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This looks like the same pattern observed with the iOS Google Authenticator app. That one was neglected for multiple years as well, up to the point at which it
by Slartie 7y ago
This looks like the same pattern observed with the iOS Google Authenticator app. That one was neglected for multiple years as well, up to the point at which it looked ridiculously out of place on newer devices because it was running in some compatibility mode for old screen sizes and screen resolutions.
After multiple years of no support whatsoever, they finally updated it. But apparently that was just random luck - the current version is over a year old already as well, with the update news saying "Added support for iPhone X".
I don't get it why Google apparently does not get the notion that they basically "own" the brand identity of what we technically-minded people know as the TOTP 2FA scheme - and they own it because of the Google Authenticator app. Thousands of websites ask their users to install "the Google Authenticator app" if the user wants to enable 2FA - they don't tell them to install "an OTP app" or something like that, no, practically everyone refers to this scheme and the associated apps as "Google Authenticator".
And it can't be too hard for a company able to fund and drive the development of a leading web browser engine to keep a simple TOTP app up to date and well-supported in the two major smartphone ecosystems. Heck, a single full-time developer should be more than enough manpower to do that! And Google has like, what, 100.000 of them?
Instead, Google lets other companies slowly chip away at their mindshare in the 2FA market - during the years of Google's inactivity, lots of alternative applications sprung up, and many password safe apps added TOTP support to their feature catalogs. We're at a point at which most technically savvy people advise other people to use ANY of those apps, but NOT Google Authenticator, even if the website tells them so. It's just a matter of time until the sites catch up and quit suggesting Google Authenticator (after all, the shortcomings of Google's application, like inability to backup seeds, probably cause additional burden on support channels for sites explicitly mentioning Google Authenticator, and if there are other apps that cause less problems, suggesting to use those at some point in time will be more beneficial than the brand name recognition bonus provided by suggesting an app by Google).
- wpietri 7y agoI'm ok with Google truly owning something. And I'm ok with them not doing something at all. But i want them to stop jumping in, bigfooting a space, and then losing interest. I know they've given up on "don't be evil", but maybe they can at least adopt, "With great power comes great responsibility."
- laumars 7y agoRegarding your point about mind share: It's been a long time since I've called that method of MFA "Google Authenticator" because of exactly that reason. But you're absolutely right that a few years ago that was exactly what I told people to install and what I crudely called TOTP 2FA.
- thekyle 7y agoI'm actually a bit surprised that Apple hasn't made their own OTP app for the iPhone yet.
- notlukesky 7y agoI use SAASPASS Authenticator for personal services and it has search capabilities and also optional autofill on both desktop (with browser extension) and mobile. The codes can also be copy/pasted from the web portal. The same Authenticator codes can be on multiple devices including tablets. You have multiple different backup and restore capabilities including mobile number WITH a master password. https://saaspass.com/ https://saaspass.com/ Full disclosure: I work for a SI that integrates SAASPASS IAM to enterprises.
- gerash 7y ago"2FA market". Wait now 2FA apps constitute a market? The whole article is inaccurate and tries to jump on the stereotypes we see in the news about Google to capture clicks. Authenticator is still a secure 2FA app (unlike Authy) and the fact that the devs did not ship a new build or updated the UI recently might not be great but the app does its job. If "awk" does not ship a new build in a few years would it be considered abandonware?
- Slartie 7y agoCommand-line applications for consoles are not exactly comparable to smartphone apps in that regard, because their natural habitat changes only at a glacial pace nowadays, while the habitat of smartphone apps - the smartphone OSes - evolved at ridiculous speed during the last decade.
- Macha 7y agoEven Unix utilities are not immune to this. Look at Linux net-tools (which provides ifconfig for Linux) for an example of one that became abandoned, and consequently dropped. Screen also nearly suffered this, though my understanding is development has resumed since.