Google Authenticator now backs up OTPs so you’re not SOL when your 2FA device goes MIA

3 min read Original article ↗
Welcome screen on a phone for the Google Authenticator app.

Dallas was working on cars at a Honda dealership rocking a MyTouch 4G when Artem and the gang started Android Police. It was this very website that got him into Android in the first place — he'd sneak a few articles in between cars, and even managed to nab a Nexus 4 on his lunch break before they sold out thanks to AP's news coverage.

Raised by a teacher, Dallas was always good with grammar and never shy about reading — as it turned out, that and a passion for Android were all he needed to get his start in publishing. After a brutally hot Austin, TX summer in 2011, he decided it was time to quit the automotive industry and saved up to pursue a new career. He moved to San Diego in 2013, responded to a Reddit job ad from a website based out of Santa Monica, and somehow got his foot into a brand new door without any formal training in the field.


Dallas spent a few of those years at WonderHowTo and Gadget Hacks fighting off impostor syndrome before he looked up and realized he had become a genuinely good writer and editor. Then he moved back to Austin, took a flier with his alma-mater-of-sorts, and somehow managed to bring his career full circle as the News Editor at Android Police. He couldn't have been happier to have a chance to inspire the next generation of Android fanatics.

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Google Authenticator is one of the best standalone two-factor authentication apps out there, but it has one glaring weakness: the one-time passwords (OTPs) it generates are only accessible from one device, as the service lacks any form of cloud backup. That’s finally changing with a new feature that can sync 2FA codes to your Google account, allowing you to use Authenticator on multiple devices simultaneously.

Google announced the cloud backup feature today as part of a major revamp to Authenticator that includes a colorful new app icon. Previously, OTPs were stored entirely locally, which meant that if you lost access to the device with Google Authenticator installed on it, you lost the "something you have" factor in your 2FA security chain and were simply locked out of any accounts that you had secured with Authenticator.

Google Authenticator's new icon (left) and cloud sync feature (right), as seen on the iOS App Store

Now, with OTPs being backed up to your Google account, you'll be able to access the codes from other devices where you're signed in to Google Authenticator. But if you have 2FA configured on your Google account, you'll need to generate backup codes or add a recovery phone number for that account in order to preserve access to the OTPs in Google Authenticator.

The new feature is rolling out to Android and iOS starting today, but we're not seeing it on the Play Store just yet — however, you can already sideload the new version from APKMirror. For Android, you'll need Google Authenticator v6.0 to access the new feature, while iOS users will need to look for v4.0.

Meanwhile, Google continues its investments into a passwordless future with its Credentials Manager API, which syncs security passkeys to your Google account and allows you to sign in to supported apps and services with a single tap. The new system should soon work with third-party password managers, so there's lots to look forward to with Google's security features in the near term.