Switching phones no longer means losing all your codes, preventing numerous sign-in issues.

After years of begging, you can now use Google Authenticator to sync all your 2FA codes to your Google account. This is an important feature when your phone suddenly breaks down or is upgraded to a new model. Syncing makes it easy for you to sign in with your account on another device, after which all your 2FA codes will be available again.

Cloud syncing has been around for a long time in tools like Authy or Microsoft Authenticator, but Google has had none of it since Google Authenticator launched in 2010. Until today, registering in the app meant a risk because if the device is lost or broken, you have to go through a whole lot of hassle to register a new 2FA device for all applications where you use 2FA.

The search giant emphasizes that cloud synchronization via a Google account is optional. Anyone who activates the function must be sure that their Google account is optimally secured. In this way, even a hacker who hijacks your Google account suddenly has access to all your 2FA codes. Additionally, there is no limit to how many devices Google Authenticator can sync to your account to generate 2FA codes. Applications like Authy offer more control over this for greater security.

Along with the cloud sync announcement, Google is also announcing a new logo for the authenticator app. If you want to sync all 2FA codes to your Google account, you need to update the app first.

IT services that support 2FA in many applications will be happy about Google’s change. Cloud synchronization is essential to increase the user experience of 2FA security.