Account recovery starts with what happened to your account
Account recovery means proving to a platform that an account is yours, through the platform's own process. Which process depends on what happened: hacked, disabled, locked out, or lost 2FA. Those tools are free, and nobody outside the platform can overrule its decision. We help you pick the route and prepare the filing.
The platform's own tools are free, so start there
Every platform named on this page has its own recovery process, and you don't pay to use it. If you still have your email and your phone, you may not need anyone's help. We'd rather tell you that now than have you find out after paying someone.
Nobody outside a platform can overrule its decision. That includes us, and it includes the stranger in your comments who says they know someone at Meta. Outside account recovery help is narrower: working out which route fits, getting your evidence in order, and saying clearly what a reviewer needs to read.
Your account recovery route matters because the forms aren't interchangeable. A hacked-account flow asks you to show the account was yours before someone changed it. An appeal asks the platform to reverse its own decision. A locked-out flow only asks who you are.
Four questions find most routes
Answer these in order before you fill in any form.
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Can you still log in anywhere?
Check your phone, tablet, and old laptop. A session that's still open can save you the whole process.
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Who acted: a person or the platform?
A password or email you didn't change points to a person, so it's a hacked account. A notice saying you broke a rule points to the platform, so it's an appeal.
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What can you still reach?
List the email, the phone number, your authenticator app, any backup codes, and any device that has signed in before.
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What can you show?
Recovery runs on proof. Old emails from the platform, photos of you on the profile, and screenshots of any notice are worth gathering before you start.
If someone else got in, you need the takeover route
A hacked social media account has a few plain signs: your password or email changed without you, posts you didn't write, or a login alert from somewhere you've never been. Hacked account recovery means showing it was yours before the change.
Check your inbox first. When an Instagram account's email changes, Instagram sends a message from security@mail.instagram.com, and the "Secure my account" link in it can undo the change. If that doesn't work, instagram.com/hacked starts the recovery process. An account with photos of you may be asked for a video selfie, which Instagram says is deleted within 30 days. Facebook's version starts at facebook.com/hacked, and it suggests using a device you've logged in from before.
If your email account was taken too, recover that one first, since every other reset runs through it. Once you're back in, change the password, turn on two-factor authentication, sign out of other devices, and check that the recovery email and phone are really yours.
If the platform acted, you need an appeal
Disabled, suspended, and banned all mean the platform made a decision about the account, and no password reset will change that. A disabled account appeal asks it to look again, so read the notice closely first. If it names a rule, your appeal should answer that rule.
- Instagram: log in to the disabled account and follow the on-screen steps to request a review.
- X: log in to the suspended account, then open the appeal form in a new tab. Signed out, that form shows no fields at all.
- WhatsApp: use "Request review" in the app. WhatsApp says most reviews finish within 24 hours, that no button means the ban is final, and that third-party services can't remove a ban.
- Snapchat: "Appeal Decision" is available once per lock, and a decision can take up to 30 days.
If you're in the EU and a decision to suspend or disable your account on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube stands, you can take it to Appeals Centre Europe within six months. There's no fee for you, but its decisions aren't binding on the platform.
One trap: don't open a new account while you wait. X's rules count that as ban evasion, and we won't help with it on any platform.
If nothing changed but you can't get in, you need identity proof
Being locked out of your account is often the quiet case: a forgotten password, an old email address, a phone number you gave up years ago. Nobody attacked you and nobody ruled against you. The platform simply can't tell that you're you.
Google's advice: use a device you often sign in with, from a place you usually sign in. Enter the most recent password you can remember, and don't skip questions; if you aren't sure, make your closest guess. If Google says it couldn't verify the account belongs to you, you can try again.
X may lock an account after suspicious activity and ask for a phone number, an email, or a reCAPTCHA. If you've lost the phone and the email, X says to contact support, and it also says plainly that sometimes the only option is a new account. Google's fallback is similar: a replacement account.
If your second factor is gone, the route depends on what's left
Two-factor authentication (2FA) is the second step after your password: a texted code, an authenticator app, or a security key. A lost authenticator app is a hard case, because to the platform, someone without your second factor looks just like an intruder.
Look for what's left before you file anything. Backup codes often end up in a password manager or an old email draft. A device that's still signed in may let you switch the method from inside the account.
Telegram works differently. Its FAQ says that "whoever has the number, has the account." So if your phone was lost or stolen, start with your carrier: block the old SIM and get a new one with the same number. If Telegram is open on another device, end the old session under Settings > Devices.
A forgotten Telegram cloud password needs more care. A recovery email can reset it. Without one, a reset requested from a logged-in device runs a 7-day timer and keeps the account, while the same reset from a logged-out device deletes the account. Read that screen twice before you tap.
Where each platform's route starts
These are the official starting points as of November 2026. If your screen disagrees with this table, trust your screen.
| Platform | Where the route starts | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| instagram.com/hacked; for a disabled account, log in and follow the on-screen steps | May ask for a video selfie if the account has photos of you | |
| facebook.com/hacked | Use a device you've logged in from before | |
| X | Phone, email, or reCAPTCHA check if locked; appeal form if suspended | The appeal form needs you logged in to that account |
| Recovery questions from the sign-in page | Use a usual device and place | |
| Telegram | Login by phone number; support form if you can't log in | Its FAQ says support relies on volunteers |
| "Request review" in the app | No button means the ban is final | |
| Snapchat | "Appeal Decision" for a locked account | Once per lock, up to 30 days |
How a case moves once you message us
You stay the account holder the whole way, and anything that gets filed goes through the platform's own form.
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You tell us what happened
The platform, the username or link, and what the screen says. Not your password, and not a code.
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We tell you the route
That includes telling you when you can finish it alone, or when a route looks closed. If you want our help, you get a price and a timeframe here.
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We prepare the filing
We sort your evidence and draft the appeal or recovery wording, so it answers what the reviewer is looking at.
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You file, and we stay with you
You submit it from your own device, and we help you read each reply. We also take cases on TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Discord, working from their current help pages.
What we won't do
Ownership comes first. We only work on accounts you can show are yours. We turn down these requests:
- Getting into anyone else's account, whether that's a partner, an ex, an employee, or a competitor.
- Opening a deceased person's account outside the platform's own legal process.
- Account takeover, password cracking, or intercepting sessions or login codes.
- Buying, selling, or transferring accounts against a platform's terms.
- Ban evasion, including a fresh account made to get around a ban.
- Claiming inside contacts, staff access, or a direct line to any platform. We don't have one.
Recovery scams look a lot like help
Losing an account makes you an easy target, and account recovery scams are built for that moment. The FTC's guidance on refund and recovery scams is written about lost money, but the pattern carries over: someone contacts you first, sometimes on social media, and wants a fee up front. Treat these as warning signs:
- A stranger replies to your post or sends a DM saying a "recovery expert" got their account back.
- Anyone asks for your password, a 2FA code, a backup code, or a session cookie. We never will, at any stage.
- Someone asks you to read back a login code or send a screenshot of it to "verify" you.
- A promised result, an inside contact, or a "direct line" to the platform's staff.
- A support phone number or support account found in a comment, an ad, or a reply.
Hold us to the same test
We charge for our work, so ask us the same questions you'd ask anyone else. We don't ask for login details, and we can't promise an outcome, because the decision isn't ours. If you've already handed over a code or paid someone, change your passwords now, sign out other sessions, and tell your bank if money moved. In the US, you can report it at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
What decides how long recovery takes
The platform controls the queue, so the answer varies. Beyond that, it depends on whether the recovery email and phone are still yours, whether an intruder has replaced them, how much proof you've kept, and whether you've already used up an appeal.
Questions people ask first
What is account recovery?
It's the process of proving to a platform that an account belongs to you so you can get back in. Each platform runs its own version, and the steps depend on what happened.
Can I recover my account without paying anyone?
Yes, and you should try. The platforms' own tools are free, and many cases end there. Outside help makes sense when you can't tell which route fits, or you want help with a filing you may only get one attempt at.
Can you get my account back for certain?
No. The platform decides, and no outside party can overrule it. We can make sure you're on the right route with the right evidence, and we'll tell you if a route looks closed.
Will you ask for my password or a 2FA code?
Never, at any stage. That goes for backup codes and session cookies too. Anyone who asks for these during a recovery, including someone claiming to be us, isn't helping you.
How do I get back into my account if I lost my phone and my 2FA?
Look for backup codes and any device that's still signed in. If there are none, use the platform's recovery process from a device and place you usually sign in from. On Telegram, start with your carrier and a replacement SIM.
What if my appeal is refused?
Read the reply for the reason. On some platforms that's the end. In the EU, an out-of-court body such as Appeals Centre Europe may take the case. Don't open a new account to get around the decision.
Can you help me get into someone else's account?
No, whether it belongs to a partner, an ex, an employee, or a competitor. We only work on accounts you can show are yours.
Official pages this guide relies on
AccountRecovery is independent. We aren't part of, endorsed by, or paid by Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube, Google, Telegram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, LinkedIn, or Discord.