For years, Google Authenticator has provided users with an easy way to ensure their security online by offering them with one-time codes that act as secondary means of authentication to access online accounts after one has keyed in the primary authentication code: their password.
However, one of the shortcomings of Google Authenticator has been that the configured accounts are local and don’t sync anywhere which means that, unless one has the old device where they set up Google Authenticator as their multi-factor authentication service of choice, there was no other means of transferring the same details to another device. In the event of a loss of one’s smartphone, that, as well, meant bidding goodbye to those details and presenting a whole other nightmare.
Going forward, that will no longer be a headache that Google Authenticator users will have to nurse.
The latest update to the Google Authenticator app brings with it syncing to Google accounts meaning that in the event of a change of device, one continues accessing their one-time codes as soon as they sign in.
“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,” Christiaan Brand, a product manager for Identity and Security at Google writes on the Google Security Blog.
“With this update we’re rolling out a solution to this problem, making one-time codes more durable by storing them safely in users’ Google Account. This change means users are better protected from lockout and that services can rely on users retaining access, increasing both convenience and security.”
This works across platforms so it doesn’t matter if your previous device was an iPhone and you’re now setting up on an Android device or vice-versa. It will just work.
