Knowing which account can reset the others

Identify your master account and protect it more heavily than the rest.

Every time you press forgot my password, a message goes somewhere. That somewhere is the account that really controls things.

For most people it is one email address, plus the cell phone number that receives codes. Whoever holds those two can reset the bank, the pharmacy, the utility, and the photo library, without ever knowing those passwords.

So the sensible order of effort is upside down from how most people spend it. The email deserves the strongest protection you have. The store loyalty account deserves almost none.

One more piece often forgotten. Check the recovery address on the master email itself. If it points to an address you closed in 2011, fix that this afternoon.

Key points

The account receiving reset messages controls the others.
For most people that is one email plus one phone number.
Protect the master account first and hardest.
Check the recovery address on the master account itself.
Update recovery numbers before a phone number changes.

What to remember

Two minutes in one settings screen protects everything downstream.
Rank accounts by what they can unlock, not by how much money sits behind them.
A phone number is a key. Changing one without updating accounts locks doors behind you.

Try this

Open your email security settings this afternoon and read the recovery address and phone number aloud. Fix either one that you no longer use.

Practice: Knowing which account can reset the others. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.