Having your Facebook account hacked or disabled can be extremely frustrating. Many people’s first instinct is to want to send a copy of their ID to Facebook to prove their identity and recover their account. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before sending your personal identification to Facebook.
Can You Send Your ID to Facebook?
The short answer is yes, you can send a copy of your ID to Facebook. Facebook’s support pages provide an option to upload an ID document when submitting an appeal to recover your account. Acceptable IDs include:
- Driver’s license
- Passport
- National identification card
- Birth certificate
- Voter registration card
- Military identification card
- Visa
- Immigration registration card
- Non-driver’s government ID (disability ID, SNAP card, etc)
So technically, you are able to send your personal ID to Facebook. However, there are a few important factors to consider first.
Is It Safe to Send Your ID to Facebook?
The main concern with sending your ID to any company or service online is security and privacy. Once you provide your personal identification information, you are trusting the company to store and use that data responsibly. Here are some risks to keep in mind:
- Data breaches – If Facebook’s systems are compromised, your ID could be accessed by hackers.
- ID theft – Criminals could potentially steal your identity using the ID details.
- Tracking/profiling – Facebook may use your ID to connect your offline identity to your online activity.
- Unauthorized secondary use – Your ID could be used for other purposes without your permission.
Facebook does outline the ways they use submitted IDs on their help page:
“If you provide a copy of your government-issued ID, we use technology like image matching to verify your identity. Uploading a copy of your ID also allows us to check if the ID is valid, unaltered and belongs to you. We also may use the name on your ID to help confirm you’re an authorized account holder.”
They state they will only use your ID for account recovery purposes and will delete any ID copies within 30 days. However, many users are still wary of providing identification, even to large tech companies. It ultimately comes down to a judgement call and your comfort level.
When Is Sending Your ID Recommended for Facebook Account Recovery?
Here are some instances when providing your ID to Facebook may be your best or only option to regain access to your account:
- Account disabled for suspicious activity – Facebook may disable accounts it believes violated policies. An ID can show you’re the legitimate account holder.
- Can’t access recovery email/phone – If you don’t have access to the account’s recovery contact info, an ID may help verify your identity.
- Failed authentication checks – If you repeatedly failed Facebook’s login verification checks, sending ID may be the only way to recover access.
- Significant account restrictions – In some cases of severe account limitation, providing ID may be required to lift restrictions.
- Imposter account reported – If someone reported your real account as fake, ID can prove the account’s authenticity.
In these situations, submitting your identification documents to Facebook may be your only recourse to get back into your account. Just be sure to fully assess the risks beforehand.
Steps to Safely Send Your ID for Account Recovery
If you determine that providing your identification is the best option to recover your Facebook account, here are some tips to do it safely:
- Only send current, unexpired IDs issued by official government agencies.
- Block out any unnecessary personal details not required for verification (e.g. driver’s license number).
- Double check that you are sending your ID directly to Facebook’s official support – avoid any other third parties.
- Follow up frequently with Facebook Support to ensure your ID is received and your account is recovered promptly.
- Consider setting a calendar reminder to follow up again in 30 days – this is Facebook’s stated timeline for deleting received IDs.
- Enable two-factor authentication on your account once recovered for extra security.
- Change your account password to something secure that you don’t reuse on any other sites.
Taking these precautions will help minimize risks when submitting your personal identification to regain access to your Facebook account. However, it’s always wise to avoid providing sensitive information online whenever possible.
Alternatives to Sending Your Real ID to Facebook
For those understandably hesitant to provide their actual identification documents to Facebook, here are a few potential alternatives to explore:
- Double check recovery contacts – Make absolutely sure your listed email, phone number, trusted contacts, etc cannot assist with regaining account access before providing your ID.
- Submit account selfie – Facebook may offer facial recognition login as an alternative to send a live selfie instead of an ID copy.
- Have friend report issue – Get a friend still able to access Facebook to report your disabled account issue to support.
- Communicate via other channels – Try reaching out to Facebook support by phone, their Oversight Board, or @Facebook on Twitter for assistance.
- Focus on appeal information – When submitting an appeal, provide as much helpful context, details, evidence as possible explaining why your account was wrongfully disabled.
Depending on your specific situation, one of these alternate routes to communicate with Facebook Support may help recover your account access without directly sharing your personal identification.
Can You Recover a Facebook Account Without ID?
In some cases, yes – you may be able to regain access to your disabled Facebook account without directly providing your identification documents. Here are a few scenarios where ID might not be necessary for account recovery:
- Minor restrictions – If your account is merely limited but not fully disabled, you may be able to address issues without ID.
- Recovery contacts work – If you can receive a login code via your recovery email or SMS, you likely can log back in without providing ID.
- Successful appeal – Providing sufficient context/evidence in your appeal may lead to Facebook reinstating your account without ID.
- Facial recognition – Facebook’s facial recognition login option may restore your access without needing to send in ID docs.
However, in many situations where accounts are completely disabled, sending some form of verifiable identification seems to be necessary based on Facebook’s policies. So while possible in some limited cases, recovering your account without any ID submission may be difficult depending on your specific circumstances.
Conclusion
Sending your personal identification documents to Facebook or any company online does come with privacy and security risks to consider carefully beforehand. However, when your Facebook account is completely disabled or hacked, providing ID may be the quickest and most effective route to get back into your account if you are the legitimate owner. Take reasonable precautions when submitting sensitive info, enable extra account security afterwards, and explore alternative options before resorting to sharing your actual ID where possible. With proper care, sending your ID can aid the account recovery process while minimizing potential downsides.