Facebook Rolls Out New Account Recovery Feature

Whether your account was compromised or you forgot your password, Facebook has a new security feature, called Trusted Contacts, which helps you regain access should trouble strike.

Facebook first started testing the feature, which it called Trusted Friends, in 2011. Facebook has since redesigned the feature and renamed it Trusted Contacts.

Trusted Contacts lets you choose three to five friends that Facebook will contact with a security code for you to enter if you're having trouble accessing your account. Here's how to set up the service.

How to Set Up 'Trusted Contacts'

To set up your Trusted Contacts, navigate to your Security Settings page. Click Edit next to Trusted Contacts, then click "Choose Trusted Contacts."

You should choose only close friends to help you regain access to your account and your friends should verify that it's you before they give you the security codes.

Once you click "Choose Trusted Contacts," Facebook will ask you to choose three to five friends who you can call for help if there's a problem with your account. Facebook will notify these friends that you have chosen them.

After you've added your friends, Facebook will ask you to enter in your password to complete the process, and your "Trusted Contacts" will appear in the corresponding box in your Security Settings page. You can revisit this page to make edits to your list of Trusted Contacts.

The Facebook friends you chose as Trusted Contacts will be notified with an email. You'll also receive an email confirming that you added friends to the list.

[Want more tips, tricks and details on Facebook? Check out CIO.com's Facebook Guide.]

Kristin Burnham covers consumer technology, social networking and social business for CIO.com. Follow Kristin on Twitter @kmburnham. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline and on Facebook. Email Kristin at kburnham@cio.com

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