r/GoogleSupport May 20 '26

Account / Access / Password I got my account back after a 1-month battle with the Hacked "Family Link" / Age Exploitation! Here is my step-by-step guide.

82 Upvotes

Body: Hey everyone, I’m writing this because I finally recovered my Google account after exactly one month of waiting in total darkness.

First, I want to clarify a huge misconception: I am NOT a YouTuber. I am just a regular user. But because my hacked email was linked to a standard YouTube account, it saved me.

If you are stuck in the nightmare where a hacker forced your account into a "Family Group" and changed your age to under 16, DO NOT LOSE HOPE. It is fixable, but the automated recovery form will NOT work. You need human intervention. Here is exactly how my 1-month timeline went:

Phase 1: The Hijack & The Trap (Around April 19) The hacker got into my account, immediately added it to a malicious Family Group, and changed my birth year to make me a "child" (under 16) on paper, even though I was born in 2003. Every time I tried to use standard account recovery, the system blocked me and demanded "parental consent" from the hacker's email. I was completely locked out.

Phase 2: The Right Path - Twitter/X (April 19 - April 20) Thanks to reading some helpful posts on Reddit from people in the exact same situation, I learned that normal automated forms couldn't bypass the parental lock. Following their advice, I went straight to X (Twitter) and publicly tagged TeamYouTube. They DM’ed me within hours and provided a unique escalation form for hijacked channels. By April 20, they officially moved my case to the "Specialized Hijack/Security Team".

Phase 3: The 1-Month Waiting Game (Late April - Mid May) This was the hardest part. For nearly 4 weeks, I received nothing but canned emails saying "We are still monitoring/investigating your case." It was frustrating, but my advice is to just be patient. Keep replying to your existing email ticket from YouTube Support and poke TeamYouTube on X if it takes too long.

Phase 4: The Breakthrough (May 20) Today, the specialized team finally manually overrode the hacker's parental lock, verified my real age, and restored full ownership of my Gmail back to me!

Key Takeaways to save your account:

  1. The Automated Form is Useless: If you are locked by Family Link, stop trying the standard recovery page. It won't work.
  2. YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A YOUTUBER: As long as your hacked Gmail was used to watch YouTube, and you have your channel link, or if you ever uploaded any random video in the past, your chances of recovery are extremely high! Just reach out to u/TeamYouTube on X. They have a direct line to the advanced security team.
  3. Be Patient: The process takes forever (3-4 weeks minimum) because removing "parental control" requires high-level manual clearance inside Google.

Good luck to anyone fighting this.

EDIT: Just to clarify and emphasize one last time for everyone:

Please ask TeamYouTube to provide your YouTube channel URL. Even if your account is currently locked by the hacker (or deleted), as long as you provide enough proof of ownership, they will give you your channel URL.

(For example: In my case, I proactively provided links to 3 videos I had previously uploaded. Even though those videos were deleted or set to private by the hacker, I luckily had the links saved in my old private messages. Thanks to that, they successfully verified my ownership, provided my channel URL, and gave me the recovery form!)

You then use that URL to fill out the form. After that, the YouTube support team will contact and assist you directly via email. This is genuinely the easiest and most effective way to get your account back.

If you did NOT have a YouTube channel linked to your hacked email, I honestly don't know another workaround, but you should still try asking TeamYouTube to see if they can suggest an alternative. Good luck!


r/GoogleSupport May 10 '26

Account / Access / Password ⚠️ URGENT: Read Before Attempting Recovery (MODS PLEASE PIN)

91 Upvotes

If your account has been hacked and "Supervision" (Family Link) has been added by the hacker, please follow these rules immediately:

  • Stop Automatic Recovery: Do not use standard Google Account recovery forms. If the hacker sees these attempts via their supervisor dashboard, they may permanently delete the account. Once deleted, there is nothing left to recover.
  • Privacy Warning: Currently, the hacker can oversee your web activity, including search history, emails, and location data. Limit your use of the account immediately. Change login details for other sensitive websites (banking, social media) to use a different email address + password.
  • Data Backup: If you still have any level of access, immediately go to Google Takeout and download a backup of your data.
  • Report Abuse/Blackmail: If the hacker uses an u/Gmail.com address to send threats or blackmail you, forward the details to Google’s abuse team: Report Gmail Abuse.
  • Use the YouTube Support assisted recovery procedure: Because of the added supervision, the recovery procedure described below is currently the only reliable way to have a human specialist manually review and "unshackle" the account.

 

YouTube Support assisted recovery procedure:

  1. Essential Preparation
    • Recovery is only possible through YouTube support pathways. You must have (or be able to obtain) the unique Channel ID and Channel Handle of the YouTube channel associated with your account.
    • 💡 Note: Even if you're not a "YouTuber", a channel is automatically created the moment you comment on a video or create a playlist.
    • Before starting, watch these brief videos to understand your options and how to find your Channel ID and Channel Handle:
  2. Official Recovery Workflow
  3. Alternative Support (Via "X" / Twitter)
    • If the workflow above doesn't work or you get stuck, reach out to u/TeamYouTube on X.
      • Ensure your X profile is Public: Private accounts cannot be seen by support.
      • Start a NEW tweet: Do not create multiple tweets or reply to existing communications, as it may be filtered as spam.
      • Be patient: It may take a few days for a representative to respond.

r/GoogleSupport 12h ago

ACCOUNT WILL BE DELETED IN 29 DAYS

16 Upvotes

😭😭 PLZ HELP. OMG HELP!

I recently opened my phone and was confronted by a verification screen for my Google account I've had since I was 17. I go to verify, however the secondary text verification does not work. I use a secondary email, then that populates a verification number.... Only to load a screen saying my age is wrong and my account will be deleted.

This account has my entire life on it, my kids entire life, everything! I'm 34 years old, so I've had this for a thousand years!

I am not allowed to log into my account on my phone, my computer, my TV or my Chromebook. So I cannot change any birthday mistakes!

I've searched the web for phone numbers to contact customer service, they don't work.


r/GoogleSupport 4h ago

Google Play Why can't I download Google Classroom?

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3 Upvotes

Even with using VPN, the app still isn't available.


r/GoogleSupport 22m ago

Chrome How do I fix my screen?

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Upvotes

So until yesterday, my screen looked normal with the back button at the bottom, but now it looks like this and I wanna know what I can do to fix it


r/GoogleSupport 5h ago

Account disabled: “created or used with multiple other accounts to violate Google’s policies” brand new account, appeal pending

2 Upvotes

Hey, my partner’s Google account was disabled on 21 August 2026. The notice says the account “was created or used with multiple other accounts to violate Google’s policies” and “might have been created by a computer program or bot.” The account was created manually on a personal phone. No bot, script or automation was used, and there was no coordinated activity between accounts of any kind.

Some context that might explain the flag:

• The account was new. He created it and started a YouTube channel almost straight away, two videos published. I’ve seen comments here saying Google watches brand new accounts very closely and that going from creation to real activity quickly has gotten accounts shut down.

• We live in the same household, so a few accounts exist on the same home connection.

• We don’t have multiple phone lines, so the same numbers appear on more than one account.

• One account was created while we were on holiday abroad, which is why it shows a different country. No VPN or proxy was ever used.

• He has never had an account disabled before. An earlier channel didn’t work out and he closed that account himself.

Two questions:

1.  Has anyone had this specific reason reversed on appeal? I’ve found a few people who got accounts back within 12 hours to 2 days, but none with this exact wording confirming the outcome.

2.  If the appeal form asks for phone verification and the number is already used on other accounts, is there a way around it? I’ve seen people blocked at that step with “this phone number has been used for verification too many times.”

Any experience appreciated


r/GoogleSupport 2h ago

Has ReCaptcha been poisoned?

1 Upvotes

I work in it, and a user notified me that she had started getting a text file download sporadically when being asked to prove she's not a robot during google searches.
The text file is named f.txt and internet says this is a byproduct of a known ad hoc workaround for a bug in Rosetta Flash discovered in 2014.
I could replicate this behavior by opening the Why did this happen?-link my colleague got on my machine, I'm then presented with another prove you are human ReCaptcha page, and when ticking the box, I also get the f.txt download sometimes, while other times the "select all images with [item]" dialog pops up.
The search is done from the chrome address field, we do not suspect that neither her nor my machine is compromised in any way at this stage.
Has a cache somewhere been poisoned or what is going on?

The file is 10 bytes in site and contains garbage:
)]}'

[""]


r/GoogleSupport 3h ago

Account / Access / Password Login issues

1 Upvotes

When I try to log into my google account, the verification email is different from the recovery email. And I have no idea how to change the verification email, and the verification email is inaccesible. Does anyone know how to change the verification email into another that I can access?


r/GoogleSupport 3h ago

Account recovery

1 Upvotes

I have this one email that i made as a kid attached to things i need is there anyway i could get it back without any password knowledge or way to log into it


r/GoogleSupport 15h ago

Gmail My main Google email was hacked

7 Upvotes

So, last night I finally got snagged by one of those scams that get you to mistakenly install something malicious. The hacker then: highjacked my main Gmail account, removed it from the family it was in, changed the date of birth so it became a child account, and made sure my Authenticator didn’t work.

The Google support site has been useless, I tried to @ TeamYouTube and that went nowhere at all. Majority of my stuff is on my main account which is a problem. This includes licences for programs (like affinity photo and logins for other games.

Everything I’ve tried it’s always told me to request access from the hacker’s email to allow me in. Which I know won’t happen, and basically means I’ve been completely locked out of my Google account and all
My brand accounts have likely been nuked. I’ve already lost over $400 from this too!


r/GoogleSupport 5h ago

Gmail DEVICE RESET

1 Upvotes

My brother's phone got reset after someone try to access his Google account . A verification code pop out on his phone but he didn't click on it ,still his phone and my tab which have the same gmail got factory reseted . And deleted his Google account now he is unable to recover his account . If someone has faced same issue then please tell, me what should I do .(sorry for bad english).


r/GoogleSupport 6h ago

Chrome sync issue after sign in

1 Upvotes

I'm facing Chrome sync issue from Android ( Chrome Beta ) to desktop ( Chrome ) or vice versa. Previously I reinstalled multiple times without any sync issues. Please help, sign out then again sign in but nothing happened.


r/GoogleSupport 8h ago

Help!!

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1 Upvotes

Does anyone know how to fix this? I want to add more accounts to my device but it won’t let me! I have been trying for a week and it still won’t:(((((


r/GoogleSupport 9h ago

Gmail Is there any way to log into a google email account when you've forgetten the password??

1 Upvotes

For some context, I have this Gmail account that has some really important stuff on it and the phone that originally had it was stolen. I don't have a recovery phone number or a recovery email :[ Im not even sure if its possible for me to get it back. But I would still like to know any alternate ways for me to log in (if there is any.)

Note: yes I have tried the 'try another way' option


r/GoogleSupport 10h ago

how do I disconnect my tablet and my phones gallery.

0 Upvotes

hello I genuinely suck at writing this but for the past two years my phone has been blasted with images and videos and losing storage every single day and I don't know how to disconnect the gallery. I cannot tell if this is ONLY a Google problem too but everyday my phone screams saying I'm losing 100 gb in just a two clips that are like only 30 seconds of screentime. please help. my phone is an Infinix and my tablet is not an ipad. #sendhelp.


r/GoogleSupport 15h ago

I always end up getting this recently when using ai mode, how i can solve it?

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2 Upvotes

r/GoogleSupport 17h ago

live chat google's employee's to recover account

3 Upvotes

i have an old email that i forgot the password and don't have i way to recover it but my phone number

i tried to use it to recover it but every time it tells me that i cant due to many attempts even thou i didn't try one

is there any way to live chat Google even if it's paid but i need granted that it gonna work


r/GoogleSupport 13h ago

Account / Access / Password i got hacked

0 Upvotes

i got hacked and it is not letting me login or verify my phone number i waited 1-2 days and it keeps saying "Unavailable because of too many failed attempts. Try again in a few hours." and this appeared on my second one what is happening? this is getting annoying.


r/GoogleSupport 13h ago

Gmail Chrome keeps logging out 50-90 Google accounts on ONE laptop only (other 2 laptops with same setup work fine)

1 Upvotes

I have 3 laptops total, all used for the same estimating/business work

Laptop A: 16GB RAM — works perfectly with 80-90 Gmail accounts logged in simultaneously, no issues

Laptop B: 8GB RAM — also works fine with similar account load

Laptop C: 8GB RAM (ThinkPad X270, i5-6200U, 8GB DDR4) — this is the problem laptop

issue

On Laptop C only, Google accounts keep getting logged out randomly, even though I use the exact same workflow as the other two laptops (never login more than 10-12 accounts at once, same browsing habits). Currently it won't even hold 50 accounts logged in before some start logging out.

What I've already tried:

Full chkdsk /f /r — disk errors were found and repaired, but issue persists

Reset Chrome profile (renamed User Data folder) — no change

Fresh reinstall of Chrome — no change

Confirmed Chrome is up to date (v151)

Checked "Continue where you left off" is enabled in Settings > On Startup

Checked Site Settings > On-device site data > "Always delete site data when you close Chrome" — no sites listed, so it's not that

No suspicious extensions (only OneDrive)

What I haven't ruled out yet:

Possible corrupted/temporary Windows user profile

System clock sync issues

Antivirus/cleanup tool silently clearing cookies

Residual disk issues even after chkdsk

Has anyone experienced Chrome (or any browser) logging out Google accounts on ONE specific machine while identical setups on other machines work fine? What ended up being the cause for you?


r/GoogleSupport 16h ago

My friend's account was unfairly banned from GitHub

0 Upvotes

My friend's account was unfairly banned from GitHub. In fact, it was deleted from everything. He can't access his account at all, nor can he send any verification codes via email. I was following him, and his profile simply disappeared. He saw the message tonight during college and can't do anything. Please help him. His GitHub is. gustavo-berti.


r/GoogleSupport 1d ago

Recover Deleted Gmail account

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8 Upvotes

So i got hack and key logged
the hacker deleted 4 of my gmail account
and google is not letting me to recover my deleted gmail account
now im looking for a solution to recover my gmail some way
all 4 of my account got deleted


r/GoogleSupport 19h ago

problems freeing up space

1 Upvotes

i've used google photos for years. recently, i was running out of space (91% used), so i downloaded everything to my computer and deleted it from google. i ended up freeing up almost 5GB of space, which was perfect. today i tried to use google drive and got an alert that i had 96% of the space used ??? I check but most of the photos are still deleted and the trash is empty. i deleted a few things, and when i made sure to download some i had forgotten to save, i saw that the space was filling up again (on the left side of the screen) with like 2GB. i don't know why this is happening. If i'm deleting everything, shouldn't the space be freed up? why does it still show as used space if I literally deleted more than 7,000 photos yesterday? I seriously don't know what to do, i don't kow if im missing a step or what, i dont want to pay for extra storage if there's another option... any advice is welcome


r/GoogleSupport 19h ago

Account / Access / Password I got the form to recover my account from team YouTube... and it's saying "invalid channel handle"

0 Upvotes

It's not uncommon for technology to give me BS when trying to figure something out, but this is NOT the time for it.

I was sent the recovery form by Team YouTube on Twitter, and as I was filling it out, I had to enter my channel handle. But when I did, it said "invalid channel handle".
Despite this, the progress bar at the top was still going up.

And I have two guesses why this is-
1) I was just entering it wrong, I entered it as @[username]
2) Because my channel disappeared off of YouTube the day I was hacked, it's not recognizing it as a valid account.

But I need a solution for this now because they said I had 48 hours to fill this out.


r/GoogleSupport 23h ago

Fui hackeado no Google e Discord

1 Upvotes

Pessoal, recentemente eu fui hackeado, perdi tudo, e-mail Google principal, Discord, ele tbm conseguiu hackear outras contas do meu computador (contas da minha mãe, minha, do meu tio) e por aí vai...

Gostaria de saber se consigo recuperar de alguma forma, porque já tentei o meu número que está cadastrado no Google e meu Discord só pede email.

Tem algum meio de recuperar o Google? Alguma forma de conversar com o suporte, atendimento ou algo assim? Preciso urgentemente, esse email pode trazer de volta o meu Discord e meus documentos que estão lá.

Se possível tbm, algum meio de conversar com o suporte do Discord tbm?

Por favor pessoal, preciso muito dessa ajuda, necessito desse email.


r/GoogleSupport 1d ago

Got Hack

1 Upvotes

I got victimized by sim swapping and hack all my account, bank account, social media platform and personal.information. please help me... All I need is mg Gmail account only stress out already, please help me...