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Google Authenticator - 2 Factor Authentication Made Easy!
April 10, 2019

Google Authenticator - 2 Factor Authentication Made Easy!

Nathan Sichilongo | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Google Authenticator

Google Authenticator is used in authenticating our passwords to specific portals. Using 2FA and Google Authenticator, it makes our work of accessing sensitive information and accounts easier. Also adding 2FA & GA to accounts helps us control who has access to accounts especially for users who have usually set weak passwords.
  • Google Authenticator is fairly simple to use. The interface is intuitive and the setup process is easy, simply open and add an account. You can download the app and secure your accounts within 5 minutes.
  • I like that authentication is fairly straightforward. In some cases, you may need to enter a six-digit code, but in many instances, it's a simple yes/no selection and someone can log into their account.
  • The app itself is also fast, you barely notice any delay between setting it up and getting a 2FA confirmation. One of the beauties of 2FA apps like Google Authenticator is that you get near instant notification when asked to authenticate accounts.
  • While I like that Google Authenticator is a 2FA app, I find that some websites need a different kind of authenticator like LastPass or Microsoft's Authenticator. It would be great if you could add all your sites into one app instead of having multiple apps.
  • For 2FA to work effectively you need to have your phone on you. One thing I noticed is when you reset your phone or change phones, you have to create all your logins again and get codes for each one. It seems a bit tedious but if there was one account that I could sign into and then use for 2FA instead of losing all my information when I change phones or reset it.
  • Google Authenticator has a positive impact on our internal communication & security as it makes it slightly harder to accounts and sensitive information without authentication.
  • Google Authenticator gives us a bit more peace of mind because we now know that we have an extra layer of security for our business related accounts. It is hard to place a monetary value on how valuable peace of mind and security can be.
I wanted to add Microsoft Authenticator to the comparison list but I could not find Microsoft Authenticator among the options here. However, Google Authenticator is more intuitive to use than LastPass or Microsoft Authenticator. It is a pity it does not support Microsoft accounts or competition would be more fierce. All these apps are simple to use but Google Authenticator is faster and works with more websites than the other two in my opinion.
If you work with a lot of Google-based products and the G Suite, you can benefit from using Google Authenticator. It is especially true if you share sensitive company information and need to make sure your accounts are secure. It also works with AWS (Amazon Web Services) and other services, however, if you use Microsoft Outlook and other Microsoft services, you would be served better by Microsoft's own Authenticator app.