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Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

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Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#41

Post by aphantastic »

Kuinox wrote: post #33
eminent101 wrote: post #30

I'm sorry this happened. This is my digital nightmare scenario! It is disturbing how much of our digital and physical life (utility accounts, medical insurance, etc. etc.) are tied to email addresses and these email addresses are something we can never ever truly own. If you are locked out of email, you are also locked out of at least half a dozen critical portals that send password resets, OTPs and all kinds of auth…

While you dont own a domain name, you have legals means to get it back. Thats not the cast with a GAFAM email account.

How do you actually get it back? Friend of mine has a portfolio website in their name they’ve been maintaining for well over a decade, they missed one payment and some scoundrel bought it up and is demanding thousands of bucks for it.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#42

Post by edent »

If you live in the EU, you can send a Subject Access Request to Google.

That will get you back the contents of your account (emails, photos, etc).

You can also try submitting a right to rectification. They hold data about you (your account) but have incorrect data regarding ownership.

If either of those fails, you can escalate to the data protection authority in your jurisdiction.

It is likely to take several weeks though.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#43

Post by zaidf »

Good luck. I lost access to my Facebook account of 18 years a few years ago due to some 2fa bug (it tells me to enter a code from the fb app which doesn’t have that code.) Despite sending copies of my passport, license etc, the automated systems are of no help.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#44

Post by jefftk »

voisin wrote: post #9

Not intending to shame OP, but in 2024 with stories like this occurring regularly, I am totally baffled why anyone still trusts Google with anything important. Make the switch! Run, don’t walk. Do it today. Google is the Scorpion in the parable of the frog and the scorpion - it cannot help its nature. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

In this case a big part of the problem seems to be that OP has 2fa enabled but set to a phone number they don't have access to anymore. This is a really tricky situation for any provider to handle.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#45

Post by Loughla »

eminent101 wrote: post #40
Loughla wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't necessarily need to switch, just ensure Redundancy. If you keep a password database in there, or personal files, keep it on a secure external drive and make backups. Or Dropbox. Or anything. Just keep an extra. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. We have a home media server. Our important data automatically backs new files to a secure folder in there once a week. If I can do it, anyone can. And it could…

How does that work in practice? I mean I may keep my data at multiple places. But my government, my hospitals, my utility accounts, they all want my email address to send me OTPs, password reset links and such things that are necessary to prove my digital identity. How do I spread this risk and make it manageable? I have to give them some email address and I fear losing access to my email. And yes, I can lose my emai…

I have secondary account recovery for everything and secondary accounts for everything. If email one doesn't work, my phone and second email does. Where OP went wrong was not updating their phone number when it changed. There's not a lot to be done at that point.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#46

Post by andyjohnson0 »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #11
voisin wrote: post #9

Not intending to shame OP, but in 2024 with stories like this occurring regularly, I am totally baffled why anyone still trusts Google with anything important. Make the switch! Run, don’t walk. Do it today. Google is the Scorpion in the parable of the frog and the scorpion - it cannot help its nature. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

Which service do you recommend as alternative?

Fastmail. But you have to pay.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#47

Post by klabb3 »

Loughla wrote: post #23
chistev wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Switch to what?

You don't necessarily need to switch, just ensure Redundancy. If you keep a password database in there, or personal files, keep it on a secure external drive and make backups. Or Dropbox. Or anything. Just keep an extra. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. We have a home media server. Our important data automatically backs new files to a secure folder in there once a week. If I can do it, anyone can. And it could…

The issue is an @gmail.com address is owned by Google, not you. Not only do you lose your contacts’ ability to reach you, but accounts tend to use email as a last-resort primary identifier. If you lose your ability to receive verification codes, you’re often screwed.

While the crowd here can maintain a domain, that’s not a realistic option for most average people. In practice, most people’s digital lives can be lost or reset simply by messing up their primary email account. With extremely limited recovery options, after a certain point at least.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#48

Post by zahllos »

chistev wrote: post #12
voisin wrote: post #9

Not intending to shame OP, but in 2024 with stories like this occurring regularly, I am totally baffled why anyone still trusts Google with anything important. Make the switch! Run, don’t walk. Do it today. Google is the Scorpion in the parable of the frog and the scorpion - it cannot help its nature. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scorpion_and_the_Frog

Switch to what?

Honestly the answer depends on your personal requirements. If you want a product exactly like Google's offering you are not likely to find it. Somewhat like if you buy into the Apple ecosystem, buying into the Google ecosystem is designed to be a first class experience and everything else to feel slightly second class. This is of course a sort of faustian bargain, but it is up to you if you take it.

There are alternatives that do e-mail, cloud storage, contacts and calendars if you're prepared to research them. I won't post a list but mention some categories of options: there are companies offering similar products (fastmail, proton), you can sometimes rent managed next/owncloud/e-mail such as exchange from some suppliers, or you can self host some or part of your needs (e.g. I know people who tailscale to NAS drives). My google account is only used for paid-for android apps, for example. I'm one of the self-hosters (but I keep an eye on the managed offerings from local companies). I don't use tailscale as I can wireguard to my router, but tailscale works well when you just want stuff that plugs in and works. Synology NAS drives apparently can be tailscale endpoints.

Ultimately, I try to avoid Google as much as possible and to a lesser extent other large cloud providers. This stems from exactly the kind of incidents the OP faces, along with the usual concerns about ads/tracking (and specifically not contributing to this as a business model).

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#49

Post by eminent101 »

n2d4 wrote: post #24
a5c11 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am very happy with Apple and iCloud, seriously. I've got plenty of cloud space for a fair price, it integrates seamlessly with Apple devices, ships with a password manager, you can hide your mail addresses, and other goodies. I've never had a problem with it.

There are similar stories with Apple: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38625875

Do you or someone else know if Fastmail is any better? If I buy a Fastmail email, what protections exist that would stop them from accidentally or arbitrarily locking me out?

And note, I don't live in the US. I'm wondering about this question from a global perspective.

Re: Tell HN: Need help, locked out of Google account with 10 years of personal data

#50

Post by politelemon »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #13
loloquwowndueo wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which service do you recommend as alternative?

FastMail, Dropbox, Apple iCloud (Photos, Keychain, etc)

Would definitely not recommend ecosystems. They can and do lock you out and you have more to lose.
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