To recover a hacked Facebook account, start at facebook.com/hacked on a phone or computer you previously used to sign in. Follow the recovery options Facebook offers for your account. If you are still logged in, secure the account immediately instead of waiting to lose access.
The steps below cover personal Facebook accounts. Recovery screens vary by account, device and region; there is no guaranteed recovery time or outcome. A password reset, an identity check and an appeal of a disabled account are different processes.
First, Choose the Right Situation
- You can still use your account: follow the security checklist below, including your password, contact information and signed-in devices.
- You cannot sign in: use the official hacked-account route and the recovery method it offers.
- Only your password is forgotten: Facebook’s login recovery help explains the ordinary password-reset route.
- Someone made a separate profile pretending to be you: that is impersonation. Facebook’s hacked-account help hub links to the separate reporting process.
If Facebook explicitly says the account is locked for security, our locked Facebook account recovery guide explains its Get started checks, missing codes and waiting periods. A security lock and an enforcement suspension use different routes.
Recover the Account When You Are Locked Out
- Use a familiar device. Open facebook.com/hacked on a device you used for Facebook before. Meta says its recovery system uses familiar devices and locations to help recognize account owners.
- Identify your account. Enter the account information requested on the screen. Check that the account shown belongs to you before continuing.
- Choose an available verification method. If Facebook offers an email or phone number you still control, use that method and enter the code only in Facebook’s recovery screen.
- If the attacker changed the email or phone: look for the recovery alternatives actually offered. Explain that you cannot use the listed contact method when the flow allows it. Work on recovering your email account through its provider as well.
- Complete the requested verification. Meta describes adaptive recovery and an optional video-selfie method. This does not mean every account gets a video-selfie option. Follow your own screen rather than searching for a button that is absent.
- Secure the account after access returns. Use the checklist below before considering the incident resolved.
Meta’s account recovery update explains these changing options. Submit identity information only within the official process you opened yourself; never send passwords, login codes or identification to someone offering recovery in comments or direct messages.
If You Are Still Logged In, or Have Just Recovered Access
The FTC’s hacked-account checklist recommends securing both the affected account and its recovery information:
- Change the Facebook password to a unique one. If the old password was reused elsewhere, change it on those accounts too.
- Check the recovery email and phone number. Keep contact methods you control and remove unauthorized ones. Secure your email account too: someone with inbox access can intercept password-reset messages.
- Review signed-in devices and sign out other sessions. A successful sign-in alone does not establish that the attacker has lost access.
- Enable two-factor authentication. In Facebook settings, open Accounts Center > Password and security > Two-factor authentication, select the Facebook account, and follow the setup. This adds another login check beyond the password. Facebook documents this area in its authentication settings help.
- Review account activity for messages and posts you did not send. Warn contacts through a channel you control to ignore unexpected links and requests for money.
Check your computer for malicious software using updated security tools. If you entered your login into a supposed profile-viewer app, see our Facebook profile-viewer app cleanup guide for app and extension removal.
When Recovery Stalls
- A code does not arrive: check spam folders or phone reception and confirm the destination is yours. Follow any retry or waiting instructions shown.
- Your account is disabled: use the appeal or review instructions Facebook displays. The hacked-account route does not automatically reverse an enforcement decision. If only your selling access is affected, see how to request a review of a Facebook Marketplace restriction.
- You need more support: See our Facebook contact and support guide for reporting tools, support eligibility and case tracking. Use support options offered within Facebook or its Help Center. Meta’s March 2026 announcement says login assistance from its AI support assistant began with selected cases in the US and Canada. Do not assume every locked-out account has chat support.
- Someone promises guaranteed recovery: do not give them account credentials or verification codes. Friends can warn other contacts, but their reports do not replace Facebook’s ownership verification.
Keep track of the recovery steps you completed and the exact message Facebook shows next. Continue through the official option available to your account; avoid treating a claimed deadline or third-party promise as proof that access will return.
Matthew Burleigh is the founder, head writer, and editor of Solve Your Tech, which he launched in 2012. He has written technology tutorials since 2008 and worked in IT since 2003, including small-business support, IT management, and consulting. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from Arizona State University.
Matthew writes practical guides for Windows, iPhone and iPad, Microsoft Office, Outlook, Google apps, and Android. Solve Your Tech’s guides are tested on current devices or checked against official product documentation, with clear steps, sources, and update dates.
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