Google Authenticator
Ranked 4 of 5 authenticator apps by recommenders
People recommend it as a free, simple app for TOTP codes that can be moved between devices. Critics point to weak backup and export, and cloud backup to Google Drive.
People recommend it as a free, simple app for TOTP codes that can be moved between devices. Critics point to weak backup and export, and cloud backup to Google Drive.
18 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 9
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not 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
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 7 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
Codes shareable across own devices
“TOTP using Google Authenticator can also be easily shared, not just with my partner, but also among my own devices.”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Yep, Passkeys Still Have Problems” “there's an app called Google Authenticator that you could have setup on alternate android devices”
Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: How to recover Google auth after phone stolen?” Easy account transfer via QR code
“lets you move accounts easily using a QR code + phone camera”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret” “Obviously not, but you can absolutely export the codes.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Get your passwords out of Bitwarden while you still can”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
No backup or restore option
“no backup and restore, as if I'm going to spend a day setting up dozens of TOTP codes again and again”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “Credentials for Linux: Bringing Passkeys to the Linux Desktop” “But no way to backup to cold storage last time I checked.”
Comment from 29 Dec 2025 in “I switched to eSIM in 2025, and I am full of regret” Cloud backup to Google raises concerns
“Google's backs up to your Google account, but... yeah that is a major issue”
Comment from 8 Apr 2026 in “The Last Quiet Thing” “Google Authenticator adding cloud backup functionality is such a bad idea”
Comment from 20 Jan 2026 in “MTOTP: Wouldn't it be nice if you were the 2FA device?” Hard to export or move codes
“look up what hoops you need to jump through to export a single TOTP code in Google Authenticator”
Comment from 18 Sep 2026 in “I don't like passkeys” “actual implementations like Google Authenticator disallowed copying keys to another device”
Comment from 15 Oct 2026 in “Passkeys are not a trap” Usability traps and code-loss risk
“their later updates had other usability traps”
Comment from 24 Jan 2026 in “MS confirms it will give the FBI your Windows PC data encryption key if asked” “had insane footguns for losing your codes”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “Authentication Is Largely Solved. Authorization Isn't”
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 AuthenticatorThis page | 9 | 9 | 50% | 7 | — | — |
| Authy | 6 | 15 | 29% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
All 21 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“actual implementations like Google Authenticator disallowed copying keys to another device”
“look up what hoops you need to jump through to export a single TOTP code in Google Authenticator”
“I got burned by Google authenticator in the past”
“there's an app called Google Authenticator that you could have setup on alternate android devices”
“had insane footguns for losing your codes”
“two identically named apps on my iPhone distinguishable only by logo”
“Obviously not, but you can absolutely export the codes.”
“Google's backs up to your Google account, but... yeah that is a major issue”
“Google won't let you enroll multiple Authenticators”
“I know google/ms were worst”
“While it is a good app, it does backup into Drive.”
“With passkeys you won't have a choice to use The Google AuthenticatorTM”
“no backup and restore, as if I'm going to spend a day setting up dozens of TOTP codes again and again”
“their later updates had other usability traps”
“Google Authenticator adding cloud backup functionality is such a bad idea”
“getting rid of Authenticator is one less Google thing to worry about”
“But no way to backup to cold storage last time I checked.”
“lets you move accounts easily using a QR code + phone camera”
“Especially the way that earlier versions of Google Authenticator implemented it.”
“TOTP using Google Authenticator can also be easily shared, not just with my partner, but also among my own devices.”
“official answer was you can't and WAI”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.