Google deleted my account and won't let me recover it

A friend of mine just went through this, and it’s actually a pretty big deal. She lost access to her Google account, which means she can't use any of her apps—no WhatsApp, no contacts... basically nothing. She didn't get any explanation as to why it happened. Is there any way to fix this? What should she do?

It really got me thinking about what would happen if my own Google account were suddenly disabled. Everything I do is tied to it. My documents, all my registrations... it's all there. It didn't really hit me how serious this is until I saw how devastated she was.

Is there some kind of backup plan for situations like this? Does anyone have recommendations on what to do?

Susan Rivera22 said:A friend of mine just went through this, and it’s actually a pretty big deal. She lost access to her Google account, which means she can't use any of her apps—no WhatsApp, no contacts... basically nothing. She didn't get any explanation as to why it happened. Is there any way to fix this? What should she do?

It really got me thinking about what would happen if my own Google account were suddenly disabled. Everything I do is tied to it. My documents, all my registrations... it's all there. It didn't really hit me how serious this is until I saw how devastated she was.

Is there some kind of backup plan for situations like this? Does anyone have recommendations on what to do?

Just run two Google accounts and back one up to the other. If one goes down, you still have the other. 😁

cosmicorca16 said:Just run two Google accounts and back one up to the other. If one goes down, you still have the other. 😁

I don't think that actually solves the core issue, because my Gmail is tied to everything from Skype to a dozen other services. Even if you have a backup, if the main account is gone, you're still locked out of everything linked to that specific address. I wonder if there’s a reason her account was flagged; they don't usually just vanish without cause. She should probably try filing an appeal with Google to get it reinstated. Personally, if that happened to me, I’d be done with them entirely—I might even ditch Android altogether, since there are plenty of other app stores 😬 available anyway.

She can try the standard recovery process here:
https://support.google.com/accounts/.../6236295?hl=en

Honestly, you’re better off just switching over to Linux—there really isn't any other way to go about it.

driftingcanyon2 said:I don't think that actually solves the core issue, because my Gmail is tied to everything from Skype to a dozen other services. Even if you have a backup, if the main account is gone, you're still locked out of everything linked to that specific address. I wonder if there’s a reason her account was flagged; they don't usually just vanish without cause. She should probably try filing an appeal with Google to get it reinstated. Personally, if that happened to me, I’d be done with them entirely—I might even ditch Android altogether, since there are plenty of other app stores 😬 available anyway.

She can try the standard recovery process here:
https://support.google.com/accounts/.../6236295?hl=en

Google doesn't usually just shut down accounts. Unless someone hacked her and went on a rampage to wipe everything, there might still be hope. Personally, Google gave me my account back with all my emails and contacts three years after I deleted it.

The only way they actually block you is if you're out here violating terms of service in a nasty way—like threats or worse—or if you're a minor lying about your age.

Just file an appeal with Google support, answer their questions, and they should unblock it within a week.

Alexander Diaz4 said:Honestly, you’re better off just switching over to Linux—there really isn't any other way to go about it.

I actually already have it running in a multiboot setup along with a VM.

cosmicorca16 said:Google doesn't usually just shut down accounts. Unless someone hacked her and went on a rampage to wipe everything, there might still be hope. Personally, Google gave me my account back with all my emails and contacts three years after I deleted it.

The only way they actually block you is if you're out here violating terms of service in a nasty way—like threats or worse—or if you're a minor lying about your age.

Just file an appeal with Google support, answer their questions, and they should unblock it within a week.

That’s exactly what I was suggesting; there's a recovery procedure detailed in that link.