Yesterday I was on Facebook the same as always. Checked in with some of my friends, posted in a few groups, found a few book recommendations…nothing out of the ordinary. A few hours later I went to check back in, and I had been logged out of all of my accounts across all devices. Not only from Facebook itself, but also from Messenger. I tried to log back in, but my ID/password was not being recognized. I went through all of the steps to recover my account, but nothing worked. I then went to a help page where I was asked to submit a photo ID for identity verification. Now, this makes no sense, because I rarely use personal photos for my profile picture…so how would FB know if the photo was accurate? Regardless, I scanned one (with redacted info) for verification. That link was broken. I finally gave up and went to bed. This morning, I tried the whole process again…and it fortunately worked.
FB asked for a two-factor identification system, but wouldn’t accept the codes from the 3rd party app that THEY had recommended to me. I kept getting the message that I could go to the FB app, then click on Menu/Settings/Security/etc to get the code verification. Seriously? Telling someone that they need to go to an area that is only accessible via log-in to get information that they need to log in, when they can’t log in to begin with? #facebooklogic
So what have I learned from this experience? Yes, it was less than 24 hours. No, I wasn’t going through FB withdrawal. What concerns me is the suddenness. There was no warning. I don’t know how I got logged out of my accounts. I didn’t do it. I realized that nearly all of the contacts I have made are solely through FB. For the most part, that isn’t too worrisome because we know how FB friends can be, but I have some potential work contacts and it would be a problem to lose access to them.
The re-verification process was unnecessarily complicated, but I found out that it could be simpler.
- Add a cell number to your account. I resisted doing so, because I didn’t want them to have that info. It would have saved me a lot of time if I had had it connect though.
- Add trusted friends. FB allows you to add 3-5 friends who will be allowed to send you a link to gain access to your account if you ‘ve been locked out.
- Never assume that it can’t happen to you. I was waaaaay more political in 2016-2017 than I have been recently. I would have expected it back then; now, it is just a mystery.
Most importantly, however, is to take whatever contacts are vital to you, and make a real life connection outside of social media. You don’t realize the reliance you have until it is inaccessible. Make the personal connections in real life. If they live too far away, exchange e-mails and/or phone numbers for texting. Look at what and who matter, and make sure you don’t lose them.
