Google Authenticator gets cloud backup support
The venerable Google Authenticator app is finally getting the one feature people have been asking for years: cloud backup. In the latest version rolling out to Android and iOS, Google has finally added this feature that makes it both more secure and more convenient.
The cloud backup feature works pretty much as you would expect; the app will backup your two-factor authentication codes to your Google account. This means even if you uninstall the app or lose access to the device it is installed on, you don't lose all your 2FA codes. Simply by installing the app on a different device, you can get back all your codes.
Cloud backup has been at the top of the request list for this now 13 year old app. Alternatives like Authy not only let you backup the codes but also sync them across multiple devices.
Google Authenticator doesn't quite do that and can still run on only one device but at least if you are a long term user of this app and don't want to switch then you have some peace of mind now. Just makes sure you have a different 2FA method for your Google account so you don't lose both the app and access to your Google account at the same time.