How to use my trusted contacts on facebook

Here's how your friends could help you recover your Facebook account – WFTV

We’ve all got a million things on our mind these days and it’s not uncommon for us to become forgetful at the most inopportune moments.

One of the most frequent memory lapses many of us experience is when we’re logging onto our online accounts. I don’t know what it is, but remembering that password — whether it’s comprised of letters, numbers, special symbols are some combination therein — can be one of the most difficult things to do.

And what happens when we put the wrong password in there multiple times? We get locked out of our account!

Facebook has created an easy way for us to regain access of our accounts when we’ve forgotten the password or otherwise gotten locked out. It’s called the “Trusted Contacts” feature.

Here how it works: You can choose among your Facebook friends some trusted contacts that can securely send you a recovery code with a special URL. This is what you’ll use to get back into your account.

While the process involves you following a number of steps, your trusted contacts have some responsibility, as well. The main thing is that they must make sure that it’s actually you before handing over those security codes. Once you enter the codes, you’ll get access to your account.

To add a measure of security, once you choose your trusted contact(s), Facebook will notify them, so that they know what and who it’s for in the case you ever need the security codes. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to pick your contacts:

In Facebook, go to your Security and Login Settings
Scroll down to where it says "Choose 3 to 5 friends to contact if you get locked out" and click "Edit."
Click "Choose friends" and enter the names of people you wanted as your trusted contacts.

Once you add your trusted contacts, you’ll see a screen that will allow you to enter three codes that only you and your contacts will know.

Don’t worry, you can edit the list at any time to change it. Now that you’ve done that, you’re prepared in case you get locked out of your account. Here’s what to do:

Go to the login page and click Forgot account?
Access your profile by entering your full name, username, email or phone number and click Search. If you don't have access to any of the above, you will have to enter a new email or phone number. That's what Facebook will use to reach you. This is what that screen looks like below.

Once you enter your new email or phone number, that will take you to a page that says “Ask Your Trusted Contacts For Help.” This is what it looks like below.

Click "Reveal My Trusted Contacts" and type the full name of one of them.
Each one of your contacts will give you a recovery code.
Use the security codes from your trusted contacts to access your account.

And — voila — you’ll regain access to your account! Remember to keep your password somewhere safe.

Of course, it’s a good idea to talk to your friend in person when asking for the code. This way, it cuts down on the likelihood that a hacker could be making the request to get into your account.

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Clark.com

Facebook Trusted Contacts: What is it, how it helps and how to use it

Different web services and apps offer different ways to help you in case you forget your password. Facebook, apart from offering a few regular ways (reset your password etc) also offers one more way: Trusted Contacts.

Priya Pathak

New Delhi,UPDATED: Aug 1, 2017 12:45 IST

By Priya Pathak: Numbers, alphabets, special characters and likewise: there is so much mathematics you do while creating a new password. And talk about the number of passwords we have these days! A single person on an average has almost six to seven passwords like one for Facebook, one for Twitter, salary banking password, personal banking password and more. With so many passwords to remember, even people with the best memory can lose one or two when they don't use a password for a few weeks.

Solution? Different web services and apps offer different ways to help you in case you forget your password. Facebook, apart from offering a few regular ways (reset your password etc) also offers one more way: Trusted Contacts.

How to add Trusted contacts?

Log in to your Facebook account and go to Settings. Now select Security and login and you will see a recommendation from Facebook to choose your Trusted contacts.

"Your trusted contacts are friends who you chose who can securely help if you ever have trouble accessing your account," the description reads.

You can nominate 3 to 5 friends by clicking on Edit option. Facebook says that these contacts will now help you login in case you are locked out of the account. The list can be changed anytime you want.

There are few important things you need to keep in mind while selecting your trusted contacts. When the need arises, Facebook will send codes to these contacts which you will need to log in to your account so choose contacts who you can call upon anytime. He/she you choose needs to log in to the account to get the code so make sure that person is in town most of the time.

How it works when you are locked out of Facebook?

At the time of need, go to 'Forgotten your password?' link that appears on the main login page. Facebook will show you ways like email your password, text a code to reset password but you need to select 'No longer have access to these' option in case you wish to use your Trusted contacts. You will now need to provide another email address or contact number that Facebook can use to send you the recovery details. Also, you need to enter the full name of contact to reveal your Trusted Contacts List. Now call up your trusted contacts and ask them to visit https://www.facebook.com/recover where they will receive a PIN.

Also Read: Tech tip: Delete your Facebook account permanently with these easy steps

Your contacts will see a message asking them to help you login into your account. Your friends will be asked to make sure that they know you and you have exchanged words over the same. Once done, they will receive a code that needs to be communicated to you. When you receive codes from all you trusted contacts, enter them in the boxes you see below and click continue. If all the codes given by you are correct, Facebook will give you a chance to reset your new password and access your account.

Why it's tricky to use Facebook's Trusted Contacts?

Though Facebook's Trusted Contacts sounds interesting it makes no sense. It's like complicating a simple thing. I would prefer the email or phone text over Trusted Contacts. Reason? First I do not want to bother my friends, family or relative (contacts) for my bad memory.

Also Read: Want to upload high quality photos on Facebook, try these tricks

Secondly what if one of my contacts is not in town. I obviously can't ask him/her to stay in town always since I've chosen him/her as my Trusted contact.

Edited By:

AtMigration

Published On:

Aug 1, 2017

How to use trusted Facebook contacts to gain access to your blocked account

Online services are becoming more and more concerned about security issues using two-factor authentication. The added security of using a login is useful, but what if you forget your password? Trusted contacts on Facebook can help in this situation.

Call a friend

We all feel like we'll never forget our Facebook password - maybe you enter it daily, but what happens if you use Facebook occasionally or your account has been hacked and has your password been changed?

There are ways to retrieve a forgotten password, but trusted contacts give you another option. Choose from 3 to 5 friends that you trust, and whom you can call and find out your password in case you lose it.

When the need arises, Facebook will send a secret code to your chosen friends, and at least three of these codes must be given to you in order for you to unlock your account. The article tells how to do it.

Trusted contacts configuration

Trusted contacts must be set in advance. Log in to your Facebook account, click the gear icon in the top right corner of the page, and select Account Settings.

Click the Security link on the left and then click the Trusted Contacts link. Then - on the right, select Choose Trust Contacts .

Read the contents of the pop-up window - it contains a short overview of how Trusted Contacts works, and then click the Choose Trusted Contacts button.

Type the name of someone you would like to use as a Trusted Contact, select that name from the list in the pop-up window, and repeat the same steps for at least three to 5 people.

When you have done all this, click Confirm and re-enter the password for your account when prompted.

If necessary, this list of people can be changed. To do this, simply go back to the Trusted Contacts section in your account settings.

Click on the Edit link to remove or add people from/to the list. You can also use the Remove All link to remove all.

There are a few things to keep in mind when compiling a list of Trusted Contacts. Keep in mind that you will need to contact them in case you need to recover a locked Facebook password, so don't choose someone you only know from the social network and can't contact them in any other way.

When you contact a Trusted Contact for help, they should be able to log into their Facebook account, so don't target people who are often away, don't always have access to a computer, or have internet problems.

Restoring access to your account

On the Facebook login page, click on the link 'Forgotten your password?' and then enter your name, username (nickname), e-mail or telephone number.

It is possible that at the time of password recovery you no longer have access to the previously specified email or phone number. After you identify yourself, mark the missing email or phone, then click on ‘No longer have access to these?’ and then confirm everything by clicking on Continue.

Now you have the task of providing another email or phone number that Facebook can use to send you the details to reset your password.

Contact your Trusted Contacts and ask them to visit https://www.facebook.com/recover where they will be given a PIN. You will need to enter the full name of one of your Trusted Contacts to open the entire list.

When your friends log into the site, they will first be informed that you need their help to regain access to your account.

To avoid the possibility of fraud, they will need to confirm that they have already spoken to you and verify your identity.

After completing this step, the trusted contact will be shown a code to message you.

After receiving the codes from your friends, enter them into the boxes at the bottom of the page and click Continue.

After entering the correct codes, you will be able to recover your password and access to your account.

How to use the Facebook Trusted Contacts security feature (step by step) & bull; - Internet

Internet

Step-by-step instructions for using Facebook Trusted Contacts and getting to know the pros and cons of using the new security feature to regain access to your account.

Many web services already offer two-step authentication, a security method that basically involves a secondary password, usually a code, to allow users to regain access to their accounts. Companies like Microsoft, Google, and Apple already offer this extra layer of security to make it harder for attackers to steal your password and subsequently access your account and information.

Facebook is another company that has been offering two-step verification for over a year now, but now the social networking giant is also adding another way to protect your account from unauthorized access or help you recover a lost password even if you also lose access to to your mailbox. Facebook is calling the new feature: Trusted Contacts, and it lets you select three to five Facebook friends to receive a secret code that you can use to get back into your account.

Setting up Trusted Contacts is easy, follow the step-by-step instructions below:

instructions

1Go to the Facebook Security Settings page.

2Under the Trusted Contacts section, click Select Trusted Contacts .

3Select 3 to 5 friends and confirm. That's all you need to enable and configure the feature.

How to restore an account through trusted contacts: Go to Facebook and click Forgot your password? , enter your account name and click Search . in Reset your password page, click No more access to them? link and follow the instructions.

Now contact all the friends you have chosen and ask them for help. Facebook will send them a code that they can give you. Once you have all the codes and enter them on the page, press Send codes and you will be able to regain access to your account.

Pros and cons

While this seems like a good idea, there are pros and cons that you should consider. For example, for the Pro version, this is a good way to recover your password if you forget it or somehow it gets stolen and you can't even access your email to reset it ( This is like if you go to vacation, give a house key to friends - Facebook ). And you don't need to remember the secret question either.

However, on the other hand, we live in a world where trust is a luxury. So, you should also consider that Facebook Trusted Contacts can help you as much as it can harm you, because you are not just adding a few friends to reset your password, you are also increasing the chances of losing access to your account. I'm talking about that friend who can convince your other friends to request recovery codes - Yes! They can do this if they want - and then they can access your profile and change your password without your permission, so be careful who you trust.