Google Authenticator is an important Google service that perhaps not enough people take advantage of With the growing adoption of 2-factor authentication (2FA) where people are realizing that having text messages as a 2nd form of verification isn’t secure at all, using a service like Google Authenticator should be an easy option to switch to.
In most cases, using Google Authenticator is easy, as long as you have the device nearby to store your 2FA code when you log into a service. But what if the device, where all your codes are stored, is lost or stolen? Today, Google announced a change to Google Authenticator that should help you address this situation.
Google Authenticator now supports Google Account synchronization on both iOS and Android. You can now backup your one-time code to your Google Account This is pretty big.
Google admits that a large part of the feedback they’ve received over the years surrounding Google Authenticator has to do with the “complexity” that comes with dealing with a lost or stolen device. The complexity should be reduced now that your Google account can store your code. With Authenticator, losing your primary device (or someone stealing it) is much less of a problem than it used to be.
The new authenticator with account synchronization should be rolling out now as v6.0. Google says you simply update your app to the new version and follow some prompts to get started.
I went ahead and updated right away and it got really easy. The first prompt asks you to choose your Google account to sync. From there, you can start adding code, switch from light to dark mode, transfer accounts, change accounts, etc. Oh, the icon for this changes from the old gray “G” logo to the more colorful one below
Google Play link: Google Authenticator
// Google security