Facebook is locking out people who didn’t activate Facebook Protect

Illustration by Alex Castro

A group of Facebook users got an email in March that said they needed to turn on the Facebook Protect feature in order to keep their account safe.

The program is meant to help groups of people that are more likely to be targeted by malicious hackers.

It is probable that many people ignored the email that was sent from the address security@facebookmail.com.

Related

How to turn on Facebook Protect

It wasn't junk mail. It was actually true. The first deadline was Thursday, March 17th. They are having trouble with the process that Facebook has provided to get them back in after they were locked out of their accounts.

Those who didn't turn on Facebook Protect before the deadline are getting a message explaining why they can't get into their accounts and being offered to help them turn it on. It is not always working.

I got locked out from Facebook indefinitely today because I didn’t respond to emails from FB (that looked like a scam) about its new Facebook Protect system, which I was required to enable by today. So far, the text and security key options don’t work, many report. pic.twitter.com/0aXbiqzLv7

— Liv. (@Olivia_Thiessen) March 18, 2022

People are being locked out of their accounts even if they have the appropriate safeguards on social networking sites. The text-based 2FA is not working for some people.

Dear @FacebookApp: Your new Facebook Protect, which I didn’t ask for, keeps texting me an identical two-factor verification code, which continues to not work. I’m now effectively locked out of my account. This is heightened security? Guess I’ll spend more time on Twitter… @Meta

— Mike Morrell (@RealMikeMorrell) March 18, 2022

Others complained that they couldn't get through the process even before the deadline, so they were locked out of their accounts.

this Facebook protect thing is so annoying because it’s not letting me turn it on and I need Facebook for work so I’m really hoping Facebook fixes the stupid code

— Daniela (@itzzdaniela) March 16, 2022

We contacted the company and asked if they had any suggestions for people locked out of their Facebook accounts. We will let you know if we hear back.