Google Authenticator is one of the best apps to offer your accounts additional security by generating timed codes for two-factor authentication. But there is a problem, the one-time codes are associated with a device and losing it can be a headache for the information and technology department. That’s changing. An update to Authenticator for Android and iOS now stores backups of codes in your Google account. You don’t need to reauthorise all your linked apps (or scan a QR code) just because you have switched devices.
To get the new feature going, update the Authenticator app. If you’re signed in to a Google Account within Google Authenticator, your codes will automatically be backed up and restored on any new device you use.
“We released Google Authenticator in 2010 as a free and easy way for sites to add ‘something you have’ 2FA that bolsters user security when signing in,” Christiaan Brand, a group product manager at Google, wrote in a blog post. “With this update we’re rolling out a solution to this problem, making one time codes more durable by storing them safely in users’ Google Account.”
At the same time, Google continues to encourage people towards a password-less future. The company, along with Apple and Microsoft, has formed FIDO Alliance or “fast identity online”. The idea is to make websites ditch passwords and allow people to sign in with fingerprints, face scans or a phone.