Recovery sheet
How you get back into each main account: the recovery phone and email, the recovery contact, where any printed code is kept, and the people you trust with a role.
Essential on a first pass: the Recovery methods sheet (Getting back in), filled for the main email and the account your devices use. The list of people with a role can wait until you choose a recovery or legacy contact.
Never type a password, PIN, passcode, backup code, security answer, full card or account number or Social Security number into these sheets. Write where a thing is kept, not the thing. The sheets are saved in this browser and printed on paper, so treat them like your other important papers.
Recovery methods
Essential on a first pass (Getting back in). For the recovery phone, write only the last four digits. For printed codes, write where they are kept, never the codes. Never type a password, PIN, passcode, backup code, security answer, full card or account number or Social Security number here. Write where a thing is kept, not the thing.
People I trust with a role
Optional on a first pass (Getting back in, Money and identity and Your security file). Who holds a role, and whether they know it.
How to use this sheet
- One row per account you must be able to get back into. Start with the main email and the device account.
- Last four digits only for a recovery phone, and "which account" for a recovery email.
- Printed codes: write the place. "Passport folder, desk drawer" is enough. Google's backup codes come in Two-step sign-in and passkeys.
- Check the date each year. Phone numbers and email addresses change; the yearly check-up in Your security file includes this sheet. Our convention
The example row is Ruth Alvarez's Gmail after Getting back in: her recovery phone moved from a landline she gave up to her mobile, a second email address she can open as the recovery email, and the printed codes kept with her passport. Names and details are invented.
Recovery options make getting back in possible, not certain. Each company runs its own process and sets its own waits. A recovery contact cannot get into your account; they can only help you prove it is yours.