Recovery Contacts: Sign in with a little help from your friends and family
Losing access to your Google Account can be stressful — whether you’ve forgotten your password or lost the device that holds your passkey. In these moments, you may have to take extra steps to prove account ownership, such as receiving an SMS one-time code. But that can be hard if you lost your phone or haven’t updated your recovery phone number.
To strengthen account recovery and ensure access when it matters most, we’re introducing Recovery Contacts — a new option that lets you choose trusted friends or family members to help if you ever get locked out of your Google Account. It’s a simple, secure way to turn to people you trust when other recovery options aren’t available.
Set up and use Recovery Contacts
You can add someone who you trust as your recovery contact by visiting g.co/recovery-contacts. When you reach out to one of your recovery contacts for help, you will share a code with them. They will get an email or notification and can confirm it’s really you by verifying that code, helping you securely regain access to your account. While you should choose someone you trust, rest assured that your recovery contact will not have access to your account or any of your personal information.
Improving Google account recovery
Because your Google Account is central to your experience across Google, from storing personal information to personalizing your services, we want to make sure you can always access it, even when you don’t have your usual device or password. Passkeys have been one big step toward that password-free future. Recovery Contacts adds another trusted, secure option on top of our existing tools, helping you regain access when other methods aren't available.
Recovery Contacts are rolling out now. We know losing access to your account can be stressful, and we are continuing to work on new solutions to make recovery more dependable, while continuing to uphold Google’s high standards for privacy and security.
Check if your account is eligible, and try recovery contacts today.
