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Tech News and Commentary
Dave and the team discuss the death of GM’s Bolt line, Fire TV as a home hub, AI and robocalls, a news app, new car smell science, WhatsApp on multiple phones, and more.
Tim in Greenville, South Carolina asked: “I had an account with Facebook for many years. I also have an Instagram account connected with that Facebook account. But I had gone a few months without ever using it, and I had changed phones since then. Facebook, in all its infinite wisdom, has denied me access to my old account, even though I remember my password and I remember all my security question answers. I have access to both of the email addresses associated with the account. The account is really mine, but Facebook won’t give me the account because I’m now logging in from a new device as opposed to the one that they recognize, which was some random $30 Walgreens smartphone from two years ago. I even uploaded a copy of my driver’s license to prove that I was me. But the Facebook team said Sorry, it didn’t match their records. The funny thing is, is I still have access to the Instagram account that is associated with the Facebook account. Anyways, I made a new account for Facebook by now, but I still use the old Instagram account. I was just wondering if there was any way that you guys know how to get my old account back. At this point I kind of don’t need it, but it would be interesting to know.”
Tim, you pretty much went through all of the official steps. You did what you were supposed to do.
Unfortunately, companies like Facebook and Google are notorious for taking steps like these with no further recourse.
They both see users as vehicles for advertising revenue, not clients, and both will lock users out without a second thought.
Google is infamous for it, and stories about it can often be found in forums like Hacker News were people try to find help through unofficial channels, hoping to reach an employee that may be able to manually review their case and unlock access to an account that may be central to their ability to earn a living.
Facebook gets less press because their accounts at best may be centered on promoting a business rather than running it, but theyre guilty of the same quick account locks that often times cannot be reversed without knowing someone on the inside.
Facebook at least tries, thats where the picture of the license comes in, but if you happen to have moved out of state or have gotten a new picture, you may still be out of luck.
Unfortunately, the best course of action is probably the one you already took.
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