Moving all your secure accounts to a new phone is now safer than ever

News
By Barclay Ballard
published

iPhone users finally get a Google Authenticator update

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(Image credit: Shutterstock / ImYanis)

Getting a new personal or business phone is exciting, but it can also be accompanied by its fair share of hassle, particularly when it comes to shifting accounts over from the old device to the new one. Well, Google Authenticator is finally bringing a new feature to iPhone users that will make the process a lot less stressful.

Back in May, Google issued a few useful updates to its Authenticator app for Android users, including a new dark theme, and, more importantly, the ability to migrate two-factor authentication accounts from one device to another, as long as they both have Google Authenticator installed. The process is straightforward and secure, with no data sent to Google’s servers. Instead, the two devices communicate with each other directly using a QR code generated by Google Authenticator.

The only problem, for iOS users that is, was that the update only came to Android versions of the app. Well, Google has finally rectified that by bringing its account migration feature to iOS.

Long time coming

Version 3.1 of the Google Authenticator iOS app, which received its last update in 2018, now boasts that same dark mode that came to Android phones earlier in the year, as well as the ability to transfer accounts.

Of course, the demand for this update may have been relatively limited – there are other two-factor authentication apps out there for iOS users – ones that receive updates more than once every two years. Still, it’s nice of Google to finally get round to bringing the new version of the software to the App Store.

Two-factor authentication remains one of the most commonly employed security methods for anyone that doesn’t trust passwords to do the job by themselves. Nevertheless, it does not offer full-proof security and there have been some calls to adopt more robust security solutions. 

Via 9to5Google

Barclay Ballard
Barclay Ballard

Barclay has been writing about technology for a decade, starting out as a freelancer with ITProPortal covering everything from London’s start-up scene to comparisons of the best cloud storage services.  After that, he spent some time as the managing editor of an online outlet focusing on cloud computing, furthering his interest in virtualization, Big Data, and the Internet of Things.