Google Authenticator review

Google Authenticator is the app many sites still name in their setup instructions, and it remains a sound choice if you already live in Google's services. You add an account by scanning a QR code, and the app produces time-based or counter-based codes even with no network or cellular connection. The feature that changed its standing is sync: sign in with your Google Account and your codes are backed up and available on all your devices, so a lost phone is no longer a disaster. Without sync, you can still move accounts to a new phone by scanning a transfer QR code. Google needs 2-Step Verification turned on to use it for your Google Account itself. The app is deliberately plain. There is no desktop or web app, few organizing tools, and using the cloud sync means trusting your Google Account with the codes, so people who want separation may prefer Ente Auth or Proton Authenticator.

Who it is for

Google account holders who want the simplest setup

Price

Free.

Google Authenticator Utilities Free
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 13, 2026.

Key features

• Sync codes to your Google Account and across your devices
• Set up accounts with a QR code
• Time-based and counter-based codes
• Transfer accounts between phones with a QR code
• Generates codes without a network or cellular connection

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Sync is built in for anyone signed in to a Google Account
• Strength: Very short setup with QR codes
• Strength: Available in English and 31 more languages on iOS
• Weakness: No desktop or web app
• Weakness: Cloud sync ties your codes to your Google Account
• Weakness: Fewer organizing tools than Ente Auth or 2FAS

Key facts

• Price: Free
• Platforms: iOS, iPadOS, Android
• Backup: Sync to Google Account
• iOS requirement: iOS 17.0 or later

Where it ranks

Google Authenticator is No. 5 in our Best Two Factor Authentication Apps verdict.