This article provides step by step instructions on how to use a mobile app for 2-factor authentication when logging in to your website. The mobile app method is both quicker and more reliable than the email method.
1. Choose a 2-factor authentication app. We use and recommend Authy (check out their website here) but there are others to choose from as well.
2. Once you have downloaded the 2-factor authentication app onto your phone, login to your website on a computer.
3. Once logged in to the website, navigate to your user profile, find the 2-factor authentication options, and follow the steps below.
4. In the Mobile App row, check the "Make Primary" box
5. Then check the "Enable" Box
6. When you click the "Enable" box, several setup options will open up on the left:
7. In the 2-Factor Authentication app that you are using, start a new account and add the website by either scanning the QR code or entering the secret key.
8. Once you have scanned the QR code or entered the secret key from the website into your 2-Factor Authentication app, the app should provide an authentication code for you. Enter this authentication code from the app into the field on the website (see #8) and click "Verify". This will finish the connection.
Congratulations! The setup is complete. The next time you are logging into the website, you can go to the 2-Factor Authentication app on your phone and enter the code that it is giving you at that time. (Note, these codes are constantly refreshed, you typically have about a minute to enter a code before a new one is generated.)