How to get my daughter's gmail account back?
October 11, 2011 2:29 PM   Subscribe

Can I get my daughter's Google email account back? She has had her full name as her gmail address since she was a toddler (her uncle picked up her full name early on.) They offered g+ to her and she attempted to sign up. Because she was honest about her age (under 13) they froze her account! What complications will there be if I use my credit card to verify the account? (one of three options to unfreeze.)
posted by vespabelle to Computers & Internet (8 answers total)
 
From what I can gather from a quick Google search, they want a credit card with her name on it. It seems that when your uncle originally signed up, age wasn't an issue. Under Google's current T.O.S., you need to be 13 to even have a Gmail account. I think your daughter might be out of luck, but by all means try. Sorry for your firstnamelastname@gmail.com loss.
posted by 200burritos at 2:39 PM on October 11, 2011


What are the three options they provide? Credit card verification, send in government-issued ID, and ...?
posted by zachlipton at 3:03 PM on October 11, 2011


Can you put her on one of your credit card accounts (or a bank account that uses a debit card) as an authorized user, get them to send you a card with her name on it, and use that to verify? I have no idea if this is legal, but it might be.

Don't let her use the card though! That might be bad...
posted by MultiFaceted at 3:20 PM on October 11, 2011


MultiFaceted wrote: Don't let her use the card though! That might be bad...

It wouldn't be illegal in a criminal sense to verify the account with a credit card, should you find yourself with one in your daughter's name at some point. It would be a violation of Google's terms of service, obviously, but how much you care about that is your decision. Making her an AU would get her a good start on a credit history, FWIW.
posted by wierdo at 4:04 PM on October 11, 2011


You can thank your legislators for COPPA bringing about this under 13 thing. Google is just looking for cover their asses, and rightfully so. Politicians love to scaremonger "omg, the internet, will someone think of the children".
Making her an AU would get her a good start on a credit history, FWIW.
As of four years ago, that was no longer accurate.
posted by Brian Puccio at 4:13 PM on October 11, 2011


Brian Puccio wrote: As of four years ago, that was no longer accurate.

They reversed that change after being reminded by lawmakers that it's illegal to ignore those accounts in the case of AUs who are spouses of the primary cardholder. Rather than try to come up with a way to figure out who is married and who isn't, they continue to score AU accounts.
posted by wierdo at 4:23 PM on October 11, 2011


Best answer: I had the exact same problem with my son's account. We just did the credit card verification - with my own card. No problems with the name, etc.
posted by hey you over in the corner at 6:01 PM on October 11, 2011


I stand corrected, thank you wierdo.
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:13 PM on October 11, 2011


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