Google Account Hacked? What to Do Now

A hacked Google account is more disruptive than most — it's usually the recovery email for everything else, the login for Android, Drive, Photos, and often Gmail itself. If you're seeing unfamiliar logins, a changed password, or you're locked out entirely, here's what actually works.

Signs Your Google Account Has Been Hacked

• You're logged out and your password no longer works.
• Emails in your Gmail "Sent" folder that you didn't send.
• A "new sign-in" alert from a device or location you don't recognize.
• Your recovery phone number or email has been changed without your action.
• Unfamiliar apps listed under connected third-party access.

Step 1: Start Google's Account Recovery

Go directly to g.co/recover (typed manually, not clicked from an email) and follow the prompts. Google will ask a series of questions — your last known password, recovery email or phone, and approximate account creation date all help. Answer as accurately as you can; partial answers still help Google's system build confidence it's really you.

Step 2: If You Still Have Access

If you can still log in but suspect something's wrong, go straight to myaccount.google.com/security and check:

• Recent security activity — review every listed device and sign-in location; sign out anything unfamiliar.
• Recovery phone and email — confirm both are still yours.
• Third-party app access — revoke anything you don't recognize or no longer use.
• Password — change it immediately, and don't reuse a password from any other account.

Step 3: Turn On 2-Step Verification

If it wasn't already on, enable 2-Step Verification under the Security tab — ideally with an authenticator app rather than SMS, which is more resistant to SIM-swap attacks. See Setting Up Passkeys and Authenticator Apps for the exact setup.

If Recovery Doesn't Work the First Time

Google's automated recovery can take a few attempts, and sometimes a short waiting period, before it succeeds — this is a deliberate security measure, not a sign you're doing something wrong. Keep retrying g.co/recover with whatever details you can confidently supply, and avoid creating a new account in the meantime, which can complicate recovery of the original.

Once You're Back In

A hacked Google account is often a sign your email address is more broadly exposed — the same credentials get reused or traded after a breach elsewhere. If you're dealing with this, it's worth checking what to do after any email account is hacked, and considering whether other accounts using the same password need attention too.

Checking Your Broader Exposure

Account hacks rarely happen in isolation — they're often downstream of a data breach or broker listing you didn't know about. Scan My Shadow checks your phone number and email across 1,500+ sources and shows you exactly what's exposed.

Related Reading

• Microsoft Account Hacked? What to Do Now — the same recovery process for Outlook, Hotmail, and Microsoft 365
• Facebook Account Hacked? What to Do Now — recovery steps if Facebook is also affected
• My Email Account Was Hacked — What to Do — the broader email-recovery playbook
• Setting Up Passkeys and Authenticator Apps — the strongest way to prevent this from happening again