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mrj 6 minutes ago [-]
This is why my self-hosted Vaultwarden is my one password that I have to remember and requires no 2fa, which is the only important account that doesn't have 2fa.
If I wake up in a bathtub missing a kidney I can still get to my passwords and 2fa sources stored with it. Some accounts require SMS (annoyingly) so I'd have to buy a phone but the auth and credit card numbers I need to do that are in Vaultwarden, too.
I don't have good solutions now for OP (other than buy a new phone through your carrier and transfer the number). But everyone else do think through your personal DRP. Generate backup codes and put them somewhere safe, too.
sampullman 1 hours ago [-]
If you don't have the authenticator backup codes and you didn't turn on cloud sync in the app, you might be out of luck.
You can get a replacement SIM though and use it with a new phone, so the phone number recovery option should work.
uberman 57 minutes ago [-]
This. Can't you get your number moved to a new phone? I have never don't anything magic when upgrading my phone other than move contacts.
SoftTalker 42 minutes ago [-]
You're going to have more success working with the providers of the other accounts and services rather than Google. That means a lot more legwork on your part but banks and other online services all have processes to deal with lost passwords and 2FA devices. In some cases you may have to physically go somewhere with ID and other documents.
Consider it a learning experience.
beej71 9 minutes ago [-]
It's a good reminder to everyone who uses 2FA. Be sure you have multiple ways in for when your phone becomes unusable.
ticulatedspline 57 minutes ago [-]
Isn't there an SMS option? buy a new phone and have them send you an OTP via SMS.
> once you're phone is gone, you are completely over with society?
yes, I'm waiting for the Black-Mirror episode where someone drops their phone and basically dies, can't contact anyone, can't unlock or start their car, can't get an uber, can't pay for anything, can't navigate without gps, can't log into anything etc.
Everything you listed, plus a recovery email option, plus backup codes, plus SMS.
That's already a lot and anything easier would allow people to just take over accounts that they don't have a right to.
runjake 1 hours ago [-]
The only secret option I know of is to have a popular social media account and complain online.
Other than that, I copy/pasted your post into Claude and it had some good ideas.
mococa 1 hours ago [-]
There's no way, no human contact. That's why I de-googled myself.
lotsofpulp 54 minutes ago [-]
No human contact is a plus for security, as the human is the weakest link that can give up your authentication to someone that isn’t you.
ks2048 23 minutes ago [-]
The human factor is walking into your local branch with your face and an ID - something that can’t be done on a large scale by bots.
mococa 47 minutes ago [-]
Have you heard about Meta AI doing support?
tempfile 46 minutes ago [-]
"I am permanently locked out of my account with no recourse" is also a security issue.
phildougherty 1 hours ago [-]
need to save your recovery keys (text file) before you lost the phone
autoexec 35 minutes ago [-]
Man, passwords sure are nice aren't they! All you have to do is remember one because your password manager remembers all the rest of your randomly generated passwords for you and as long as you keep a backup of the password database you never have to worry about this bullshit.
SAI_Peregrinus 54 minutes ago [-]
The same way you recover any other deleted data for which you didn't make a backup: you don't. You eat the loss & make new accounts. Then you remember to make and test backups for the future.
Even if they had customer support, if that customer support had a backdoor to unlock your account it would be regularly used by malicious parties to steal people's accounts & data.
dvngnt_ 36 minutes ago [-]
They could do ID verification
pards 38 minutes ago [-]
Going forward, consider using an authenticator that securely syncs across multiple devices to remove the single point of failure risk.
I use Proton Authenticator now [0]
Authy used to do this, then they enshittified their app and bricked the desktop version.
Google authenticator supports syncing across multiple devices.
kwanbix 4 minutes ago [-]
[delayed]
mixmastamyk 37 minutes ago [-]
Does your browser have the email password saved?
thrownaway561 21 minutes ago [-]
Honestly.... This is why I have everything in Bitwarden. All 2FA runs through it so even if my phone got stolen, I could still access everything. I honestly don't understand why more people don't pay the $10 a year and just use Bitwarden.
phainopepla2 9 minutes ago [-]
Having your passwords and 2FA with the same provider carries some risk. If someone can access your Bitwarden account they will have full access to all your accounts.
If I wake up in a bathtub missing a kidney I can still get to my passwords and 2fa sources stored with it. Some accounts require SMS (annoyingly) so I'd have to buy a phone but the auth and credit card numbers I need to do that are in Vaultwarden, too.
I don't have good solutions now for OP (other than buy a new phone through your carrier and transfer the number). But everyone else do think through your personal DRP. Generate backup codes and put them somewhere safe, too.
You can get a replacement SIM though and use it with a new phone, so the phone number recovery option should work.
Consider it a learning experience.
> once you're phone is gone, you are completely over with society?
yes, I'm waiting for the Black-Mirror episode where someone drops their phone and basically dies, can't contact anyone, can't unlock or start their car, can't get an uber, can't pay for anything, can't navigate without gps, can't log into anything etc.
That's already a lot and anything easier would allow people to just take over accounts that they don't have a right to.
Other than that, I copy/pasted your post into Claude and it had some good ideas.
Even if they had customer support, if that customer support had a backdoor to unlock your account it would be regularly used by malicious parties to steal people's accounts & data.
I use Proton Authenticator now [0]
Authy used to do this, then they enshittified their app and bricked the desktop version.
[0]: https://proton.me/authenticator