Account Recovery

Account Recovery: If You're Locked Out - Getting Back Into Pfotos

How to recover your account if you've lost access. (And why we built it differently.)

Date created: 2026-05-03

If you can't sign in to Pfotos, don't panic. Account recovery is a recoverable problem, not a permanent one. This article walks you through what to do.

First — try the easy thing

Most "I'm locked out" situations are actually one of:

• You're using the wrong sign-in method (signed up with Google but trying email)
• The email magic link went to spam
• Your sign-in provider (Google, Apple, etc.) is having a temporary issue
• You typed your email wrong

If you can't sign in, try the email magic link option first. Type the email you used to sign up, and Pfotos will email you a link to get back in. Check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive within a couple of minutes.

If that doesn't work — Pfotos has a recovery system

Pfotos was built with a recovery system that's different from most apps. Most apps just say "forgot password? click here for a reset link." That works fine if you remember which email you used. It does not work if you've lost access to that email.

Pfotos uses a trusted contact approach. When you set up your account, you can designate one or more family members as trusted contacts. If you ever lose access — to your email, to your phone, to your sign-in provider — your trusted contacts can help you get back in.

Setting up trusted contacts

1. Sign in to Pfotos
2. Go to Account → Recovery
3. Add one or more family members as trusted contacts
4. They'll get a notification confirming the role

We strongly recommend doing this when you first set up your account — not after you've locked yourself out.

Why Pfotos is different here

Most photo or genealogy apps treat account recovery as an afterthought. Pfotos doesn't, and the reason is the founding story behind the product: family memory is irreplaceable. Losing access to a Twitter account is annoying. Losing access to your grandmother's photographs is unacceptable.

So we built recovery to assume the worst: you've lost your phone, your email got hacked, you can't reach your usual sign-in method. The app is designed so that another human in your family can vouch for you and help you get back in.

What if I haven't set up trusted contacts and I'm locked out?

Write to us at support@pfotos.app. Include:

• The email you signed up with (your best guess)
• Any details that would help us verify it's you (PFarm name, when you signed up, family members you've invited)

We'll work with you. It may take longer than the trusted-contact path, but we'll get there. Pfotos was built to keep families connected to their records — including in moments like this.

Security note

We're cautious about account recovery for the obvious reason: we don't want to hand someone's family vault over to an impostor. The trusted-contact approach exists exactly because it's harder to fake — a family member can verify your identity in ways an automated system cannot. That's why we ask for it.

If recovery feels slower than you'd like, that's the trade-off. We'd rather take a day to verify than hand the wrong person access to your family's history.