Forgot your Facebook password? Ask your neighbor!

Have you ever given your friend or neighbor an extra key to your house as an emergency backup? Facebook is implementing a similar strategy for lost passwords and I must admit, it’s pretty smart.

The new program is called “Trusted Friends” and it’s pretty simple. You pick three to five Facebook friends you trust. If you forget your password, you can use them to help you back into your account.

Once you've set up your trusted contacts, if you ever have trouble logging in, you'll have your trusted contacts as an option to help. You just need to call your trusted contacts and let them know you need their help to regain access to your account. Each of them can get a security code for you with instructions on how to help you. Once you get three security codes from your trusted contacts, you can enter them into Facebook to recover your account. [Facebook]

Of course, this new system will require a little bit of preliminary caution on your part. First, you need to make sure the friends you select are friends you actually trust. I wouldn’t recommend choosing anyone you wouldn’t be comfortable giving the key to your front door. Secondly, you need to make sure these friends know to only give up the security code if you actually call them. I think it's safe to say this system is likely to produce a lot of sketchy activity in the form of fraudulent asks.

While this is a great system, it’s certainly better to not forget your password in the first place. If you don’t think you can remember it (and that should be tough if it’s a good password), download a password manager like 1Password or LastPass.

Try SumRando for free here.