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Google offers to back up Authenticator, should you choose to do so.
by ISL 3y ago
Google offers to back up Authenticator, should you choose to do so.
- zigzag312 3y agoWhich defeats the purpose of MFA, since your Google account becomes your only factor.
- mook 3y agoSorry, I should be clearer: to login to Google on a new device, you typically need to accept a prompt on an old device. But if your old device is dead, that's not possible. Authenticator does TOTP and things, which is typically not adequate for logging in (even though it _should_ be).
- pmontra 3y agoI'm not using Google Authenticator or anything like that but when my old phone dropped somewhere at the bottom of a river all my banking apps, which do 2FA, had a way to let me start again on my new phone. Services that don't assist their users in a disaster recover scenario are severely lacking.
- btreecat 3y agoYes they are, and yet they exist.
- utybo 3y agoThe prompt on an old device is just one of the MFA options you can use. You can also use a security key (e.g. Yubikey, Solokey, etc.).