Proton Releases Free Two-Factor Authentication App - MacRumors
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Proton Releases Free Two-Factor Authentication App

Proton today launched Proton Authenticator, a free two-factor authentication app available across all major platforms including iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Proton Authenticator app
The open-source app generates time-based one-time passwords as an additional security layer beyond regular login credentials. Unlike competitors such as Google Authenticator and Microsoft Authenticator, Proton Authenticator also offers end-to-end encrypted backup and cross-device sync without ads or tracking, just like Proton's other products.

The Swiss-based company claims users can import existing 2FA tokens from other apps within seconds, while the app works offline and automatically backs up authentication codes.

"Two-factor authentication is necessary for everyone – not just those who care about their privacy," said Eamonn Maguire, head of account security at Proton. "We believe strong security should never come at the cost of your convenience or privacy. That's why we've developed Proton Authenticator: to give users peace of mind that their 2FA codes are available wherever they need them, without relying on Google or Microsoft."

Proton notes that account takeover attacks cost billions annually, making 2FA increasingly important. App-based authentication is also more secure than using SMS codes, which are vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks.

Proton Authenticator can be downloaded from the Proton website. The launch continues the company's recent product expansion – earlier this week it introduced Lumo, a privacy-focused AI chatbot that doesn't store conversation records or use user data for model training.

Tag: Proton

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Top Rated Comments

9 months ago
Apple passwords does this too...
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9 months ago

Awesome. I love Proton. I already use Proton Pass to store my 2FA codes. It would be cool to be able to export all my codes to this app and run it offline. They updated Proton Pass the other day and it logged me out so I couldn't do anything until I got home. I did use to have my Proton 2FA code in Google Authenticator and I have a printed copy of my code at home in a safe.

This could be super useful. Going to look into it now.


Yeah but who actually uses Apple Passwords lol. It's so barebones and behind every other password manager.
I do. It stores my passwords, fills them when I need them and wow it can even generate 2FA codes. What more do you need? (genuine question)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
adrianlondon Avatar
9 months ago
I feel one of the advantages of a 2FA app is that if, for whatever reason, your password manager is compromised, the passwords still can't be used to log in to sites requiring 2FA.

In my case, if somehow Bitwarden was compromised (maybe someone saw me type in the password) then they'd still need my phone and to unlock it to use Authy.

It's for this reason I don't like the idea of both passwords and 2FA codes being in the same app, such as Apple's.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ph03n1xx Avatar
9 months ago
Amazing, I've been looking forward to seeing something like this from Proton for years now.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
9 months ago

Nice, but why not have something like this for passkeys?
Why is it going so going so slow to move over to passkeys? I thought we would have come much further by now.
Regarding adoption of passkeys, I think people in general don’t like passkeys that much, because while in principle more secure, they are a bit of a black box. Entering a password or time-based code is something that everyone can intuitively grasp on some level. The mechanism of passkeys is more opaque and a bit inscrutable.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
9 months ago

What are the advantages and disadvantages of third-party 2FA when the entity already has its own 2FA? For example, I have 2FA enabled for my Amazon account. Why would I want to use a third party for that?
You got this wrong. This is not replacing the 2FA for any account, but delivering you the 2FA code number for any account.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)