Security
Recover your account
Locked out? ConKarma is built so a lockout is never a dead end. Here's the ladder we walk you down — from the quickest path to the last resort — with a safeguard at every rung.
Account recovery is how you get back in when you've lost your password or your second factor. ConKarma uses a layered 'break-glass' ladder for adults and a guardian-based path for children, designed so no one can quietly take over your account.
Start with a second method or backup code
If you've only lost one factor, sign in with another method you set up, or use a one-time backup code. This is the fastest way back in and needs nothing from anyone else — so keeping a spare method and your backup codes handy is the best insurance.
Time-delayed self-recovery (72 hours)
If you've lost every factor, you can start a self-recovery request. To protect you from a rushed takeover, it opens a 72-hour waiting window: we notify you throughout, and if the request wasn't you, you can cancel it instantly. When the window closes, you regain access and set fresh methods. The delay is the point — it gives a real owner time to say 'that wasn't me.'
Guarded cell recovery (opt-in)
You can opt in ahead of time to let trusted people in your cell help you recover faster. It is never a single-actor takeover: you pre-choose the helpers, the request runs on a delay, you're notified, and you can veto it. If you never set this up, no one can use it against you.
Children: a guardian recovers them
A child's account is provisioned by a guardian, and a guardian can lift a lockout for them — that's the safety net for kids, so a locked-out child is never stranded. In a co-parenting cell either guardian can help, and the other guardian is always notified when they do.
Teens: you manage it, a parent can only recover
If you're 13–17 you manage your own MFA. A parent can help you recover from a lockout, but recovery only — it restores your access and never gives them silent entry to your account, and you're always notified when it happens.
Support is the last resort
If every path above is exhausted, our support team can help as a final step, with identity checks. It's deliberately last so that contacting support can never become the easy way around your own protections.
Frequently asked questions
How long does self-recovery take?
If you've lost all your factors, the self-recovery window is 72 hours. We notify you throughout and you can cancel instantly if it wasn't you. Faster paths — another method, a backup code, or opt-in cell recovery — skip the wait.
Can a family member take over my account?
No. Cell recovery only works if you opted in and pre-chose your helpers, and even then it runs on a delay with notifications and a veto. For adults, no one can reset your MFA unilaterally.
My child is locked out — what do I do?
As their guardian you can lift the lockout from your own account. In a co-parenting cell either guardian can do it, and the other guardian is notified.
Can a parent read a teen's account by 'recovering' it?
No. For 13–17-year-olds a parent's help is recovery-only — it restores access after a lockout but never grants silent entry, and the teen is always notified.