Authy
Ranked 5 of 5 authenticator apps by recommenders
Free two-factor authenticator people say works across devices and survives phone upgrades, though critics say Twilio neglected it and dropped its desktop app.
Free two-factor authenticator people say works across devices and survives phone upgrades, though critics say Twilio neglected it and dropped its desktop app.
21 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 15
- approval share
- 29%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 0.4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Works after upgrading iPhone
“the only app that would just work after upgrading my iphone”
Comment from 27 Mar 2026 in “GitHub now requiring 2FA for all contributors,what authenticator apps you using?” Runs on multiple devices
“I use authy authenticator which I have on multiple devices.”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: How to recover Google auth after phone stolen?” Usable as backup on spare phone
“Authy and a throwaway phone added in that sits in a safe place.”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: How to recover Google auth after phone stolen?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Desktop client removed or broken
“I recommend you get off Authy - they don't have a browser extension or a desktop client”
Comment from 5 Oct 2026 in “Pixel 11 doesn't yet meet the GrapheneOS security standards and may be skipped” “stopped supporting their desktop client (thus eliminating my alternate device backups)”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: How to recover Google auth after phone stolen?” “they enshittified their app and bricked the desktop version”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: How to recover Google auth after phone stolen?” - Comment from 18 Jul 2026 in “Ente – Opening Our Books”
Acquisition by Twilio seen as neglect
“Authy is also EOL since it was acquired by twilio and tossed into the do not recycle bin it seems”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “Michigan bill would bar employers from requiring after-hours coms with workers” “Twilio screwed over everyone using that app”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages” Hard to leave, no exports
“they don't allow exports to keep you stuck in their app”
Comment from 14 Sep 2026 in “OEMpocalypse: Unprivileged Android app to root on Samsung, Xiaomi, others” “I should figure out how to ditch Authy”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Get your passwords out of Bitwarden while you still can” “I keep meaning to ditch Authy”
Comment from 16 May 2026 in “Bitwarden scrubs 'Always free' and 'Inclusion' values from its site” Custom TOTP scheme raises security doubts
“unlike say Authy where we had to inject Javascript to extract the TOTP seeds”
Comment from 15 May 2026 in “Bitwarden scrubs 'Always free' and 'Inclusion' values from its site” “they have their own weird TOTP scheme”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “Michigan bill would bar employers from requiring after-hours coms with workers”
Other authenticator apps people recommend
The four most recommended other authenticator apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aegis Authenticator | 28 | 1 | 97% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Ente Auth | 22 | 4 | 85% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Microsoft Authenticator | 13 | 51 | 20% | 7 | — | — |
| Google Authenticator | 9 | 9 | 50% | 7 | — | — |
| AuthyThis page | 6 | 15 | 29% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
18 of the 24 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I recommend you get off Authy - they don't have a browser extension or a desktop client”
“stopped supporting their desktop client (thus eliminating my alternate device backups)”
“I use authy authenticator which I have on multiple devices.”
“Authy and a throwaway phone added in that sits in a safe place.”
“they enshittified their app and bricked the desktop version”
“That seems extremely wrong to me.”
“I missed the train to move away from Authy in 2024”
“they don't allow exports to keep you stuck in their app”
“ever since authy killed their desktop app.”
“Authy is also EOL since it was acquired by twilio and tossed into the do not recycle bin it seems”
“they have their own weird TOTP scheme”
“I should figure out how to ditch Authy”
“I keep meaning to ditch Authy”
“unlike say Authy where we had to inject Javascript to extract the TOTP seeds”
“Twilio screwed over everyone using that app”
“almost locked me out of my 2fa”
“the only app that would just work after upgrading my iphone”
“it would be a tacit admission that their SMS and Authy products are not actually that secure”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.