Email verification and password reset
The code that arrives at signup, and how to get back in when you cannot.
1 min read
Confirming your email
Signing up sends you a message with a code and a button. Either works:
- The button opens a page that confirms you and signs you in. It works in any browser, including one on a different device from the one you signed up on.
- The code is typed into the boxes on the confirmation screen, which is useful when you are reading the message on a phone and signed up on a laptop.
The code expires after an hour. "Send it again" is on the same screen, with a short wait between attempts.
If it never arrives: check the spam folder, and check the address you typed. If it is wrong, sign up again. Nothing was created that you have to undo first.
Resetting a password
"Forgot your password" on the sign-in page. Enter your email address and follow the link in the message.
The request always reports success, whether or not that address has an account here. That is deliberate: a form that says "no account with that email" is a form anybody can use to find out who is on this platform.
If you never confirmed your email and then reset your password, the reset confirms you too. There is no state where somebody has proved they own the address and is still being asked to prove it.