So when you change your Google password - and it’s not a bad idea to change it regularly - keep a record of your old password somewhere safe.Ī good strategy here is to use your password manager - you use one, right? - to keep track of old passwords.
If it’s been a while since you changed your password (assuming you’ve ever actually changed it), it may be hard (or impossible) to remember that former password. One of the ways Google verifies your identity if you lose your password is to ask you to type in your previous password. (And no, keeping your Google password in the Google Password Manager isn’t going to help.) Password managers like Bitwarden, 1Password, and Zoho Vault can make sure that sudden brain freezes won’t keep you out of your email. Use a password managerĪn ounce of prevention being worth - well, you know the rest - the best way to prevent yourself from losing access to a Google account because of a lost password is to use a password manager to keep your password safe.
Your email will be downloaded in the MBOX format, which can be then uploaded into another Gmail account or into most other email services or apps. The formats of the downloads vary depending on the type of data. You can download all the data from all of your Google apps, or from some of them, or just from a single app such as Gmail. Google provides a means for you to download your data that it calls Takeout.
If you should ever (knock on wood) lose access to your account, it will be less of a blow - and is less likely to get your blood pressure shooting up - if you have a recent backup of your data.
This story is part of Keep it Locked: how to protect yourself online.