An alternative is Ente Auth: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40883839
Edit: Since there seems to be some confusion, this submission is about Bitwarden Authenticator, a free mobile app for TOTP, not about the Bitwarden password manager, which does support syncing, and which in the paid Premium plan also includes an authenticator.
I considered using Bitwarden Premium for TOTP, but dislike having passwords and TOTP codes in a single-point-of-failure backup location.
I looked into Bitwarden Authenticator, but it didn't seem to support sync between devices, as you've now corroborated. This is the reason I gave up on Google Authenticator and switched to Authy — I don't want to have to deal with trying to get all my accounts unlocked if my phone gets lost, broken, or stolen.
I've set up Authy with a backup password so that I can recover it if necessary. I understand that this is less secure, and Twilio (the company behind Authy) seems to have a mixed reputation. However my reasoning is that maintaining two layers which are separate (Authy on phone and tablet, Bitwarden on laptop) is consistent with defense-in-depth theory — even if the layers have some weaknesses.
Maybe it's time to switch to Yubikey, because TOTP apps that don't sync between devices are too high of a risk for losing access, and TOTP apps that sync aren't quite "something you have". How do people prepare for the potential loss of Yubikeys? Is it reasonable to get a spare[1] and keep it in a safety deposit box?
I still have Google Authenticator on my phone, but I hadn't been using it. I see that you now must choose between using it "with an account", in which case your codes are saved "to your account", or using it without an account. I just installed Google Authenticator onto my tablet, selected that I would "continue as [Google Account]), and voila, there are all my codes.
I presume that if you use it "without an account", the codes are not backed up, although I'm not going to test that now.
I am curious what backed up "to your account" means. I'm often logged into Google on my laptop — is it possible to access the TOTP codes from there? If my laptop is hacked it would be a disaster, and I at least want to reduce the blast radius so that accounts requiring MFA are out of reach to the hacker unless they also hack my phone or tablet.
Issues for me with Google Authenticator:
1. The cloud backups are not encrypted: https://www.reddit.com/r/cybersecurity_help/comments/1fysqij...
2. There's a strong possibility that if my laptop gets compromised my Google account will be compromised simultaneously.
3. I try (often in vain) to limit my Google exposure because if I lose access to my Google account, it will be hard to get it back due of Google's limited support offerings.
I've done another round of research into Authy and I see what you mean. I was aware that some people don't like Authy because they object in principle to multi-device sync altogether, which I understand but am not willing to live with; I also knew that Twilio had been hacked before. But I hadn't thought so much about the lock-in and the elevated risk for getting locked out if Twilio goes kaput.
So, features that I want in a TOTP app:
* Backup to cloud. If all my devices are lost/destroyed at the same time, I want recovery to be possible using information I store offsite.
* Backups not stored to my own iCloud or Google Drive, which are frequently accessed from my own devices.
* Export of codes possible from the installed app so that if the vendor goes away I can migrate.
* Not published by Bitwarden. I'm happy with Bitwarden, but I would prefer that the vendor I use for TOTP be distinct from my password manager vendor.
If I'm unlucky enough to have a house fire (which has happened in my extended family), I would like it if my MFA access was not among the items irretrievably lost.
This way the key survives a fire.
0: https://bitwarden.com/products/authenticator/#:~:text=New%20... - "New features on the roadmap include import, syncing to Bitwarden accounts, push-based 2FA, and account recovery"
1: https://bitwarden.com/pricing/#:~:text=Integrated%20Authenti...
I understand what you’re saying here, but then having a password manager and a 2FA app on the same phone is the exact same corruption.
If your threat model involves “don’t have your 2FA codes on your desktop”, it must also include “don’t have your passwords on your phone”.
If you can just clone an OTP to as many devices as you want then I'd argue it's not really two-factor. The mechanism used to sync is the same one a malicious actor would use to clone all your OTP entries and gain access to your accounts.
Then your accounts are only as secure as your iCloud account, which I wouldn't count on, and you've undermined the purpose of 2FA entirely.
There's no way around this - 2FA needs to be bound to a single physical device if you want to benefit from it.
This is extreme. Uploading your 2FA to an encrypted cloud like iCloud widens your circle of trust. But it also increases convenience and utility.
I personally take the best of both worlds. A synced 2FA for most accounts. And a locked one for my critical ones, e.g. 1PW. If I couldn't sync any accounts I wouldn't bother turning on 2FA for most because the downside is low and, ultimately, probably someone else's problem to clean up.
Depends what the benefit is.
From the PoV of my bank, the benefit is that people who use “Password123!” for all of their accounts don’t get their accounts trivially compromised.
From my PoV, the benefit of TOTP 2FA is that my password manager can fill it all in automatically rather than having to find my phone and type in SMS numbers manually. (As a non-iOS user - if you’re on iOS you can have your SMS 2FA codes put in automatically.)
I also don't think it's true that you're locked out of your account permanently if you lose your OTP entry. Even the shittiest websites will have a reset mechanism. Also - backup codes?
And I've addressed the backup codes - that's the alternative mechanism that's no better than the sync. Also, backup codes are not 2FA, so if you're so strict about 2FA you don't even allow sync, then you can't have them, thus permanent loss