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Back in the day it was the best-known and most reliably available cross-platform (iOS, android) code generator - so many sites just assume it as a de facto stan
by loloquwowndueo 5y ago
Back in the day it was the best-known and most reliably available cross-platform (iOS, android) code generator - so many sites just assume it as a de facto standard. It also reduces support burden to tell people this is the officially supported code generator, that way you don’t need to struggle understanding why a random app might be having trouble with codes.
These days it’s much less of an issue as there are many more clients - the IdP I manage now mentions authy, tofu and 1password as also supported.
- tinus_hn 5y agoAlso Google Authenticator does not allow you to include your codes in your backup, even when it’s encrypted. So due to Google Authenticator, losing your 2fa codes is an expected problem and many companies allow you to reset it by simply calling them. It sounds really secure but it really is not.
- nanidin 5y agoGoogle Authenticator has a feature to allow export of all saved codes into one QR code for re-import into Google Authenticator running on another device. I printed a copy of my export QR code for use in case my device is lost or stolen.
- greggman3 5y agoThanks! I hadn't seen that feature. Just checked it out. It shows multiple QR codes (in my case 2 QR codes which contain 11 TOTPs total) that you can scan from another device running Google Authenticator to transfer to codes. I guess I can screenshot those QR goes to back up (scary)