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Every time I try to login on my Google account via Tor, I'm presented with the following message:

Google couldn't verify it's you, so you can't sign in to this account right now.

Try again later or use Account Recovery for help.

If I try Account Recovery I'm given a form to fill with questions like:

  • When did you create your Google account?
  • Email addresses of up to five frequently emailed contacts
  • Name of up to four Gmail labels
  • Select up to 4 other Google products you use with this account, and the approximate date you started using them.

The problem is that I don't really know all the answers to those questions, and obviously at the end of the process I'm told that Information does not match. The only question I can answer for sure is Email addresses of up to five frequently emailed contacts. I tried looking for answers on accounts.google.com, with no luck.

While I was answering the form, I also received an email on my recovery email address with title Someone has your password, but with no buttons to tell Google that that "someone" is actually me.

So, what can I do?

Dear Google: I appreciate your work towards security, but hey, that's my account!

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5
  • 1
    It wouldn't surprise me at all that Google doesn't support connections from TOR nodes.
    – ale
    Apr 4, 2016 at 20:40
  • Do you have two factor authorization set up?
    – Raystafarian
    Apr 5, 2016 at 11:35
  • @Raystafarian: No, I don't
    – lennox
    Apr 5, 2016 at 13:57
  • 1
    Try turning that on, then maybe it will verify you through a code and allow access.
    – Raystafarian
    Apr 5, 2016 at 13:58
  • I have the same question.
    – d-b
    Oct 15, 2019 at 22:09

1 Answer 1

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This is because Tor Browser bundles the NoScript which enables certain restrictions for all websites by default. To login into your Google account,you need to perform the following steps:

  1. Make NoScript visible on your toolbar by right-clicking the toolbar's area, hitting 'customize' and then dragging the NoScipt icon onto toolbar. Press done.
  2. Press the NoScrip icon, press Options (the rightmost button in the top left-hand corner), press 'per-site permissions tab' and enter 'google.com' into a text field. Press the 'plus' sign on the right to confirm.

Now you will be able to login into your Google account. Please note, Google will suspect strange activity and may ask for additional confirmations while you browsing its services.

IMPORTANT This procedure may significantly degrade your anonymity. Don't do that if you heavily depend on strong anonymity features tor network provides.

Some people use Tor Browser mainly as a 'free vpn'. In that case, enabling scripts for trusted websites maybe a good idea to make the browsing experience more smooth. Some people also disable the 'permanent' private browsing mode in Preferences -> Privacy & Security - History to let websites set cookies so that sessions are preserved after restart. This may degrade the anonymity completely. Can be useful in the same scenario where tor network is used as a reliable alternative to vpn to bypass curtain country-wide censorship walls. Never visit unsecured (http) websites through tor if that's the case.

If you rely on tor network in your daily life, consider running a bridge if you happen to have a spare computer that can be online 24/7. Running a bridge relay is the safest and easiest way to support the network.

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