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To reduce the risk of getting locked out of my Google account, I’ve completed one of its newer security checks: a selfie‑style video that verifies my identity.
Google rolled out a new feature on Thursday, by which you can access your account by using a selfie video. It’s a fallback method in case you can’t access your account via the typical methods of password, passkey or backup email address.
The feature is being rolled out to Google account holders. Check here to see if you’re eligible. After you create the optional selfie video, Google will save it in your security settings. Then, if you can’t get into your account via password, passkey, backup email address or any other way, you can record another selfie video that Google will compare to your saved one to restore your access. In that second video, Google asks you to move your head in certain ways so it can compare them to your original selfie.
The facial recognition industry is growing fast. Global market revenue will triple over the next eight years, according to one estimate. More than 131 million Americans use facial recognition daily, and 70% of governments use it extensively, according to photo service PhotoAid. Google’s new selfie‑video verification is yet another sign that everyday account recovery is becoming a biometric process rather than a password problem.
Going on camera
I’ve already got several sign-in methods set up with my Google account — password, passkey, backup email, phone number — among several ways of accessing accounts. But I wanted to try the selfie video method.
First, I went to this link to see if the feature was available to me, and it was. I then agreed to various terms to continue — Google reviewing my selfie to make sure I was a real person and old enough; that it would be securely saved in Security Settings; that I might need to periodically update the selfie.
But don’t blindly check the “I agree” box. Read the fine print at the bottom, which basically states that you agree to allow Google to use your selfie videos and related data “to develop and improve our facial recognition, age estimation, and other verification methods that use your physical features or movement, across Google services.” You don’t have to agree to that part of the process to continue with the new selfie video sign-in method.
I then took the selfie video on my laptop. Per instructions, I turned my head left, then right, and then looked straight ahead. The system processed the footage and confirmed the verification.
You can delete or redo the video selfie later if you choose.
Workspace accounts, Child accounts, and Advanced Protection Program accounts currently can’t add selfie videos.
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