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I lost my email password which i haven't logged in for 10+ years (but had forwarding setup so i was receiving emails still). As a googler, i thought, surely, i would be able to get support to recover my account

Little did i know, they did nothing :)

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While I was a googler I got very frustrated while trying to help a friend regain their old YouTube account that they knew the password, email, and phone number associated but because they did not still have access to that phone number the automated system didn't let them log in with the password the system confirmed was correct. Absolutely no traction gained despite trying multiple different avenues to get help.

Yeah, I was able to briefly get access to an account that was stuck in the infamous "thanks for proving you own the recovery email but we still can't determine you are the owner of this account" loop by contacting a friend at Google. However, shortly afterward the account went straight back into the state it was before so it is basically a lost cause.

Scary to think that algorithms override even Google insiders when things break.

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