Gmail, one of Google's first services, continues to be the company's online foundation. So when you forget your Gmail password, it's practically like you're an Internet ghost haunting the places where you used to live, and I don't want to overstate things here.

It's not too horrible, I guess. But you'll want to swiftly get access to your account and change your password.

There are several ways to verify your identity and recover (or reset) your password in Gmail. Fortunately goodness, Gmail has a handy little wizard that walks you through each one step by step.

Just click the "forgot password" link on the Gmail sign-in page to begin the password recovery process. After that, a message will appear asking you to enter the most recent password you can recall. You will then be prompted to proceed in a number of different ways if you can recall a strong password and you have a backup mechanism in place. If none of them come to mind, select "attempt a different question."

The following option will send a code to a recovery email, which presupposes that you have a backup recovery email (which you set up way back when you created your Gmail account in the first place). You can reset your password and obtain access to your account by using this option, which will send a six-digit number to your secondary email account (which need not be Gmail).

For the code, check your mail on this secondary account, then input it to gain access to a brand-new password generator. A phone number backup option might be available for more recent accounts; see below.

Click "attempt a different question" once more if it doesn't work, such as if you can't access the backup account you had previously specified. We are now entering the realm of more traditional, less secure techniques of account protection, like security questions like "what is your mother's maiden name?" At least one of them should be possible for you to respond to.

Create a new password now, and then confirm it. You may now log back into your account. Here is a guide on how to select a new password that is both strong and easy to remember.

Ensure Account Security
Google will ask you to verify the security settings connected to your Gmail account after you've created a new password (and your greater Google account in general). If you don't already have them, we strongly advise adding a phone number and an active backup email to your account. They'll make easy recovery possible by sending a 6-digit pin by email or text message.

Although Gmail used to offer security questions, you can no longer add any new ones; instead, you can only remove access to existing ones. This precaution was taken since security questions aren't very effective at supplying real security. As long as you don't manually remove it on this page, your previous one will continue to function.

Once inside your Gmail account, click "My Account" in the upper-right corner, followed by your profile image (if you haven't set one, it's just the initial letter of your first name). This will take you to the Google account Settings page.

You might want to look into some of the additional options on the sign-in page. It is strongly advised to set up two-factor authentication, and if you use this Gmail account on your smartphone, you can receive an authentication prompt there rather than having to manually enter your password on the web.

Contact our Gmail Expert to Reset Gmail Password if you are unable to reset it by yourself.