Double authentication, or 2FA, is a way to protect our online accounts so that if a hacker steals our password and tries to access our account, they can’t do it without this corresponding random key that we receive on the phone. There are many ways to enable this authentication system: by mail, by SMS… but one of the most convenient, and recommended, is to use Google Authenticator.
Google Authenticator is an app based on the TOTP algorithm which is capable of generating single-use keys every 30 or 60 seconds so that when we want to log in, we will have to enter one of those keys. The keys are generated based on the time, so it is impossible to guess or generate it if it is not with the corresponding synchronized application.
The Google app is one of the easiest we can find to configure our double authentication system. However, since its launch, in 2010, it has had to deal, inexplicably, with a very big deficiency, and that is that it did not have the possibility of synchronizing the accounts with the Google Account. On the one hand, this can be seen as a security window, since we prevent these 2FA keys from ending up stored on private company servers. But, on the other hand, it can cause us serious problems if, for example, we lose access to the mobile, or we want to synchronize two, or more, devices to have the keys on two mobiles, or on a mobile and a Tablet, for example.
After 13 years of waiting, Google has finally decided to implement this feature. And, from today, we can already enjoy Sync for Google Authenticator.
This is how Google Authenticator synchronization works
The new synchronization feature for Google Authenticator is available, starting today, for the Android and iOS versions of this app. To be able to use it, we just have to update the application (which has not received changes since July 2022) and, when we open it, we will be able to see the instructions to launch this new, and expected, function.
The new version 4.0 of this app introduces, in addition to the synchronization functions, a new icon, and some visual improvements to make it much easier, comfortable and simple to use the application. To start using it to protect our accounts, we simply have to download the new version 4.0 from the App Store and the Play Store for iOS and Android respectively.
Authy, the best alternative
While Google did not implement this function, it is not known why, an alternative made its way as one of the best options to use double authentication: Authy. This totally free app allowed us to add all our 2FA accounts, encrypt them on the device, and synchronize them with the cloud through our phone number or email address. In this way, if we lost our mobile, it broke, or we simply wanted to have our keys on other devices (even on PCs) we could do it.
Now that Google has finally introduced this possibility, it is up to us which one to use. If we want to have everything in Google (passwords and 2FA), we can migrate our data to this new app, activate synchronization and forget about possible problems. Otherwise, we can continue using Authy perfectly for our 2FA as we will surely have been doing for years. And we won’t have any problems either, as long as the company continues to operate.
