Google introduces Recovery contacts, a way to claim back an account
Being locked out of a Google account can be anything from a nuisance to a disaster, depending on the circumstances. But neither of these options — nor those between them — can be called pleasant. In most cases, it’s imperative to get access back as soon as possible. Google, having created an ecosystem that many of us use constantly, not just “on a daily basis,” seems to understand it perfectly: there are moderately simple ways to reclaim the account you’ve been locked out of. Recently, the company added one more option, Recovery contacts.
Recovery contacts in Google
As Google’s product managers state in the dedicated blog post, in October 2025, the tech giant added one more item to the list of account recovery options, seeking to make the process more flexible and ultimately secure.
The feature allows adding up to 10 trusted contacts — usually friends or family members — who can verify a locked-out user’s identity in case of emergency. The setup interface can be found in Account → Security; scroll down through the “How you sign in to Google” section there to the “Recovery contacts” button, click it, and follow the prompts.
Adding a recovery contact means entering their email address into the respective field. As opposed to the recovery email, this contact doesn’t get security-related alerts sent when the system decides your behavior is odd. The email you entered gets a message telling that you’re asking its owner to be your recovery contact. The Accept button in the message should be clicked within 7 days, after that the deal expires, and you have to ask again.
There are some limitations:
- accounts in the Advanced Protection program, Workspace accounts, and child accounts can’t have recovery contacts;
- when you request account access restoration assistance, your recovery contact has 15 minutes to respond, so choose wisely.
Other ways to recover a Google account
Just to recap, here are the Google account recovery methods that’ve been there for ages:
- Recovery email. Involves requesting a verification code or a reset link to the recovery email, if that’s set up.
- Recovery phone. Same as recovery email, but a phone, and the code arrives in an SMS or via a call.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA). This isn’t a recovery method per se, but a tool that may be resorted to by the system in the process of recovery, same as security questions, recent activity verification, on-device confirmation, etc. 2FA, specifically, requires a code sent in SMS or generated by the Google Authenticator app.
Need something security-related that would help to avoid situations necessitating account recovery? Browse the Antivirus & Security section of our database:
