We are going to explain to you how to configure your Google account in order to recover it if you lose it or get hacked. Because prevention is better than cure, especially when Google does not offer effective solutions or human assistance to recover an account in case you have not configured the account security options previously.
And for this reason, today we will explain what these options are, and we will also give you tips to avoid losing all your data in case you prefer to take a gamble and not give Google access to another email or phone number to save your account. These tips are for your Google account, which includes your Gmail and YouTube accounts and the rest of the company’s services.
Make regular backups
Prevention is better than cure, and therefore, the most important thing to avoid that a loss or theft of your Gmail and Google account does not mean a definitive loss of important data, it is important to make regular backups to always have your updated data and your emails saved so as not to lose them.
To make a backup of your Google files, you have to go to the Google Takeout website. On this site, select the services you want to back up, for example, Gmail, but it is better to back up all services with data you do not want to lose.
Here, to make things a little easier for you, you can have regular copies of your data sent to you so that you don’t have to repeat this process every time. You can have Google send you copies every two months so that you always have an updated copy.
Keep your passwords safe
Creating a secure password involves a bit of originality and complicating things by keeping things simple. Writing 2 or 3 words with no apparent relation to the service or to each other, and interspersing numbers or symbols will produce passwords that are hard to forget. And there is nothing worse than losing access to your account because you forgot that super-secure password you had created.
That’s why it’s recommended that you use a password manager so you can store your passwords in a secure place. Google has its own manager, but since you would be relying on your Google account, you can use a third-party password manager such as Microsoft Authenticator to easily keep your passwords safe.
Enable two-step verification
And if keeping your passwords safe, even those of old accounts will prevent you from being unable to access them because you forget your passwords, the alternative to prevent them from entering your account is to activate two-step verification. The two-step verification is a system that is not enough to type your password to enter your account, you will need a second step to confirm your identity.
To activate two-step verification you have to enter myaccount.google.com/, or the “Manage your Google Account” option that will appear in any of its services. There, in the “Security” section go to the “Signing to Google” section, and then click on the “Two-Step Verification” option. Here, choose the method you want to use, whether it’s receiving a message on your phone, using an authentication app, or the rest of the available options.
Set up a recovery phone
Beyond the options to avoid losing your password or not being able to access your account, it is just as important to configure the options to recover access to your account in case you lose it. These options are possibly the most important to avoid regrets, and you should have at least one of them configured.
The first is to set up a recovery phone. When you do this, if there is suspicious activity or if you have lost access to your account, you will have the option for Google to send you a recovery message to alert you of those activities or help you recover your account. Ideally, this should be your cell phone number.
To do this, you have to go to myaccount.google.com/, or the “Manage your Google Account” option that will appear in any of its services. There, in the “Security” section go to the Methods to verify your identity section, and click on the “Recovery Phone” option. Here, you will need to enter your phone number.
Set up a Recovery Email
The second option to be able to recover your account is to set up a recovery email, which has to be a different email address than the one you want to protect, either from Google or any other third-party service. But it is important that it is an email that you always have access to or is in your mobile configured.
To do this, you have to enter myaccount.google.com/, or the “Manage your Google Account” option that will appear in any of its services to take you. There, in the “Security” section go to the Methods to verify your identity section, and click on the “Recovery Email” option. Both this option and the phone one, it is advisable to configure them previously to be able to recover your account later.
It is not so easy to recover your email account
But if these tips come too late, there is bad news for you. The system to recover your Google account is broken, or we can practically say that there is none. If you type in your account name and then say you can’t remember your password, you will first be asked for previous passwords, because Google stores them on its servers.
In case you have set up any of the above recovery methods, then you will be prompted to use them in order to recover your account. But if not, there is not much else you can do. If you set up security questions in the past that no longer exists, Google may ask you that, as it may ask you other questions such as how long you have had the account or if you are traveling somewhere.
Google does not offer any assistance in these cases, and the only thing it proposes on its support page for when all the automatisms fail is that you create a new replacement account. Therefore, it is important that you protect it beforehand as we have indicated.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.