Google Authenticator Now Supports Two-Factor Code Syncing: All You Need To Know

The US-based tech giant Google has announced that the Google Authenticator app, which stores one-time access codes for enhanced account security, now offers a backup and syncing feature across devices using a user’s Google Account.

Google Authenticator app for Android and iOS adds the ability to safely backup your one-time codes (also known as one-time passwords or OTPs) to your Google Account.

“We make signing into Google, and all the apps and services you love, simple and secure with built-in authentication tools like Google Password Manager and Sign in with Google, as well as automatic protections like alerts when your Google Account is being accessed from a new device," said Google in a blog post.

With Google Account support, one-time passwords can be saved in the cloud, so if you lose the device with your Google Authenticator app installed, you won’t lose access to all of your authentication codes. Prior to the integration of Google Account support, all codes in the Google Authenticator app were stored on device, which is problematic when a device is lost.

“One major piece of feedback we’ve heard from users over the years was the complexity in dealing with lost or stolen devices that had Google Authenticator installed. Since one time codes in Authenticator were only stored on a single device, a loss of that device meant that users lost their ability to sign in to any service on which they’d set up 2FA using Authenticator," said Google.

With this update Google is rolling out a solution to this problem, making one time codes more durable by storing them safely in users’ Google Account.

Google says with one-time passwords available in a Google Account, users are “better protected from lockout," increasing convenience and security. Google Account integration for Google Authenticator is available on both iOS and Android devices.

Adding Google Account support will require signing into the account in the Google Authenticator app, and once that is done, codes will be automatically backed up and restored on any new device where you sign in to your Google Account.

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