Account, Billing & Settings
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Account, Billing & Settings / Two-factor
Two-factor authentication and backup codes
The second factor on your account, and what happens if you lose your phone.
Save the backup codes somewhere that is not your phone.
What it is
The Two-factor authentication section adds a code from your authenticator app to your sign-in. Set up two-factor authentication shows a QR code to scan, and once it is on the section reads Two-factor authentication is enabled.
An authenticator app only. There is no code by email or text message, which is deliberate: an email account is usually the thing an attacker already has.
Backup codes
Setting it up produces a set of codes, introduced as: save these backup codes, each can be used once. Afterwards the section tells you how many remain, and Create new backup codes issues a fresh set.
Save them somewhere that is not the phone holding the authenticator. A printed copy in a drawer is a better backup than a note on the device that is the single point of failure.
Occasionally the section says your backup codes were made with an older, weaker method and advises creating a new set. Do it — it takes a moment and the old set stops being trustworthy.
When it is required
Three banners tell you it is not optional, each with its own reason.
- Two-factor authentication is required for your account before you can continue.
- Paid accounts require two-factor authentication — please set it up to keep your subscription secure.
- A deadline, asking you to enable it before a stated date.
When it is required and missing, every teacher page sends you to this tab until it is done. An organisation can also require it of every member as a matter of policy.
There is a fourth banner worth recognising: an administrator set a temporary password for this account, so choose your own before continuing. If both apply, changing the password is not enough on its own — the page says you still need to set up two-factor before you can leave.
If you lose access
A backup code gets you in once. With no codes and no authenticator, you cannot recover the account yourself — support has to help, and in an organisation an administrator may be able to.
That is the honest position and the reason the codes matter. Print them before you need them.