Finally got locked out of my own email and the recovery trick nobody tells you

I spent 2 hours on hold with support before I realized I could just log in through an old browser session I had saved on my work laptop from 6 months ago, so has anyone else found a random login still active that saved their skin?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavinh268d ago

Actually, that old session trick can backfire if you don't check the expiration. I had a Google login from a library computer that was still active after a year, but when I tried to use it to reset my password, it flagged the location as suspicious and locked the whole account. Turns out sessions can still work but the security protocols treat them differently than a fresh login from your usual device. Just a heads up, you might want to clear those old ones manually before they cause more trouble than they solve.

lindaw128d ago

Wait, you mean I should be cleaning out old logins instead of treating them like emergency escape hatches? I once got into my ancient Hotmail account through a session saved on a mall kiosk computer - still not sure if that was clever or just asking for disaster. Honestly, half my digital life is just hoping some random cookie from 2018 still works when I forget another password.