While some of us have more than three e-mail addresses, many people entirely depend on one e-mail. Of course seven in every ten people will be Google account in this case. While creating a google account, you need to link it with an existing email. This could be when you wish to create a Google account for your custom domain emails). Google asks for recovery email address or phone number, not to troll you but for your own good.
Most people skip these steps as a result of ignorance or other reasons only to cry days or months later. Due to many services linked to a Google account, Google marks every new login as suspicious. These services include Youtube channel,browser history,bookmarks etc, Money in adsense account, emails in your gmail etc. This justfies why the tech giant does not joke with security measures as it seeks to protect all users.
Proving Identity
When you attempt to login from a new device or browser, google will prompt you to prove your intentity. If the account is linked with a recovery mobile number or email address, you will have to provide an OTP to proceed. In the event someone didn’t link recovery options, the only way out is to have the device that you created the account with. For a smartphone, google will display digits on the new device and ask you to tap matching digits from a list that pops up in the device you signed up with. When you misplace that device, you are end up being like my friends who contact me oftenly asking me to ‘hack their gmail’ since they can’t prove ownership. Unfortunately, if you cannot take 100% responsibility of your account, Google doesn’t give a f!ck about your account. They cannot and will never compromise the security of other users just to please you.
Playing on safe ground
In case you have a lot to lose when your Google account is inaccessible, kindly link your account with a recovery mobile number or email address or both. To make it easier and reinforce your account security, turn on two-factor authentication. For heaven sake, It’s FREE my brother my sister.
