Proton is finally bringing one of Proton Pass’ best features to a standalone app. I’ve been using Proton Pass for over a year now, and it’s quickly become my favorite password manager to date for a couple of reasons. One of those reasons is the built-in two-factor authentication that the app offers. While handy, getting access codes on mobile has been annoying and tedious since Proton introduced the feature. Now, that’s changing, as Proton has revealed Proton Authenticator, a standalone app built to handle all your 2FA needs.
Proton revealed the new app in a blog post today, sharing that the authenticator will be free to use and available on all platforms — a boon for those of us who have relied on other apps like Authy or even Google Authenticator to help add another layer of security to our accounts. Considering many sites and services require you to set up 2FA now, having another option to choose from is beneficial for everyone.
Multi-platform and open-source
But why would you ditch your current authenticator for Proton’s? Despite the hassle that changing 2FA apps can bring, Proton Authenticator offers a few features that make it stand out above some of the competition. Chief among these is the fact that all of Proton’s apps, even its privacy-based AI chatbot, are open source. That means you can see exactly how they work, and exactly how much of your data is being shared with the company itself.
Spoiler alert: Proton can’t and doesn’t collect your data. That’s because all of your data is completely end-to-end encrypted thanks to the company’s privacy-first stance. When compared to other authenticators — like Google Authenticator, Authy, and Duo — Proton has a bit more to offer. On top of being open source, it also features encrypted sync, so your 2FA accounts are secure, even when syncing up between multiple platforms. And the new app is available on every platform, which is something no other major authenticator app offers at the moment.
That means you can easily grab your 2FA codes whether you’re on your phone, Windows PC, Mac, or even running a Linux desktop. Other major apps like Duo, Authy, Microsoft Authenticator, and Google Authenticator are only available on Android and iOS. You can also directly export your 2FA accounts and import accounts from other major authenticator apps with ease.
“We believe strong security should never come at the cost of your convenience or privacy. That’s why we’ve developed Proton Authenticator: to give users peace of mind that their 2FA codes are available wherever they need them, without relying on Google or Microsoft,” said Eamonn Maguire, Head of Account Security at Proton. “We’re putting users firmly in control not only over their data, but the way they access their online accounts.”
