Do you know when you opened your gmail account? Many genealogists use gmail for their genealogy. Some of us use Google accounts to save and share images. Losing access to your account could create a real problem.
I recently really messed up entering the password to my gmail account and had to go through the process of verifying my account and who I was. When I originally opened my gmail account was one of the things I was asked. I had no idea. Fortunately my “welcome” message to my gmail account was in my old messages in my non-gmail account and I had never deleted it.
3 Responses
My welcome message has probably been deleted for a decade. I created my account when gMail was still a beta. I didn’t even know how to find out when I opened my gMail account. I Googled how to find out. You create and archive by going to google.com/takeout and clicking manage archives then create a new archive. It says the process can take 45 minutes to several days.
Your post inspired me to get this date recorded, but I also want to point out that you can make your account more secure by using 2 step verification. I did this a long time ago. Whenever I log into gMail from a new computer I get a text message with a code sent to my cell phone. I need to enter this code in order to log in. This process can be a pain, but it prevents someone from stealing your account through hacking or phishing.
I use the two-step process on the account I use most often, but not another one that I use less frequently. I need to update that account as well.
[…] John Neill’s recent Genealogy Tip of the Day was about the need to document when one opened a Google g-mail Account. Since I have been using g-mail for a long time and have no recollection of when I started using […]