Using 2SV, 2-Factor Authentication (2FA) or Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is critical to protecting your accounts from unauthorized access. With these mechanisms, users verify their identity through their password and an additional proof of identity, such as a security key or a passcode.

Google Authenticator makes it easy to use 2SV on accounts. In addition to supplying only a password when logging in, a user also enters a code generated by the Google Authenticator app on their phone. This is a safer alternative, used by millions of users, compared to passcodes via text message.

Users place their trust in Google Authenticator to keep their accounts safe. As a result, security is always a high priority. We made several explicit design decisions to minimize the attack surface while increasing the overall usability of the app. 

• We ensured that no data is sent to Google’s servers during the transfer — communication is directly between your two devices. Your 2SV secrets can’t be accessed without having physical access to your phone and the ability to unlock it.
• We implemented a variety of alerting mechanisms and in-app logs to make sure users are aware when the transfer function has been used.

You can find more information about the Google Authenticator and its usage guide here.