ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (WHAT THE TECH?) — If you hadn’t heard already, Facebook discontinued a helpful way for users to get their accounts back if they lose their passwords.
Before, a trusted friend could help you. Now, they can’t.
Millions of people, who first got on Facebook a decade ago, no longer have access to the email address they first used to sign up.
For example, if you get a new computer. Even if you’re logged in to Facebook on your phone, you can’t see or change the Facebook password without entering the old password.
Impossible if you’ve forgotten it.
Facebook requires sending a code to the phone number, email address or WhatsApp number on file.
My mother changed her phone number a year ago and no longer has access to the old Hotmail account she used to sign up for a Facebook account.
What can you do? Not much anymore.
Facebook had a feature called “Trusted Contacts” for just this situation. It allowed a friend to get the link and share it with you.
Then, rather quietly, Facebook discontinued Trusted Contacts, leaving users just three options:
- The old email address
- Old phone number
That left my mom no other option than to start a new Facebook account and lose all of her pictures, posts, and friends list.
It’s a cautionary tale that you have to remember your Facebook password. Write it down. You can’t recover it, or change it unless you know what it is.
Facebook did not explain why it discontinued the “Trusted Contacts” feature. Last year, though, several law enforcement agencies warned scammers used it to hack Facebook accounts.
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