An email I received today regarding Google and Seniors
The author of the email below has given me permission to share it
publicly anonymously.
They mention a number of problems that I've long noted about Google
Account lockouts, recovery failures, and related issues. They also
mention several of my proposed solutions that Google has never
considered seriously, such as paid account recovery options for extra
help, and an Ombudsman type role -- the latter I have been publicly
discussing regarding Google for more years than I can remember.
Even more importantly, their email captures the essence of so many of
the vast number of emailed queries I receive asking for help with
Google account lockout and associated issues, especially from
non-techies and older users. Unfortunately, these days my ability to
do more than offer solace in these situations has become extremely
limited.
Here's the email. My thanks to the author for permitting me to share
it with you.
- - -
Hi Lauren, On behalf of the senior citizens who I assist, I hope that
a solution can be found. In response to the claim "no one is forced
to use google", it's getting more and more difficult to avoid. If you
have a smartphone, the majority of them run Android. My sister (an
iPhone user) has a Nest thermostat. Now that google has acquired
Nest, she needed to migrate to a google account. Similarly if one has
an Android TV (or streaming device), home assistant smart speaker or
Chromebook, you need a google account. Now that google owns FitBit,
it's shifting over to google accounts. You get the picture: lots of
IoT devices, appliances, wearables, etc. now have a requirement of a
google account.
The biggest problem is that most people don't realize how frustrating
things can become when locked out of their account until it occurs.
These aren't the sorts of folks who proactively perform security
audits to verify that their backup authentication methods are still
valid and up-to-date. Generally, they only belated realize the problem
after they're stuck and have lost access. But by then, it's too late
to repair things and there is no one to assist (other than some
volunteer moderators online). If the objection is that customer
support is too expensive, then perhaps do what Meta has done and
charge for premium service. If someone has lodged an issue that
they're locked out of their account, at least try to circle back and
contact them prior to deleting their inactive account. When I try to
explain the current situation to seniors, they're frustrated and
disappointed that there is no recourse, no channel for escalation, and
that no assistance is available. Just a dead end. I wish there was
some sort of human Ombudsman of Last Resort to which they could
appeal. Thanks,
- - -
L
- - -
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
[email protected] (https://www.vortex.com/lauren)
Lauren's Blog: https://lauren.vortex.com
Mastodon: https://mastodon.laurenweinstein.org/@lauren
Founder: Network Neutrality Squad: https://www.nnsquad.org
PRIVACY Forum: https://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
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