Easily connect to your Microsoft accounts

Microsoft Authenticator is a free productivity app that enables you to easily use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) with just your device. Offered by Microsoft Corporation, this handy app is a recommended tool for logging into your Microsoft account. You can do quick passwordless sign-ins for the company’s online services and you can even use this on non-Microsoft accounts. This is a great alternative to waiting for one-time password (OTP) codes coming through.

Quick and painless

To set up, simply log into your account using the app and select either “Personal” or “Work or School”. Then, authenticate your sign-in with a code via text, email, or another method. Now when logging in, your account will first give a random number and you have to select the correct one on your app or deny the sign-in attempt. Afterward, either your fingerprint, Face ID, or PIN will be asked and then you’re in.

For non-MS accounts, however, you have to select “Add account” in the app. Select the 2FA option and choose “via Application” on the website you’re trying to log into. Either scan a QR code or manually input a six-digit code into the app and once done, you can now use Microsoft Authenticator on other accounts. However, the no-passwords feature is only for Microsoft so you still have to input your password for these other accounts. 

The app also supports multi-factor authentication (MFA) with this feature but if you like OTP codes more, this app generates a six-digit code every 30 seconds. However, this is a time-based one-time password (TOTP) standard so the app can’t access accounts that use codes generated specifically for you as banking apps do. Despite this, Microsoft Authenticator can quickly open MS products and services and is a secure way of signing in.

Still needs polishing

Overall, Microsoft Authenticator is greatly designed for this purpose. It’s close rivals with the likes of Google Authenticator and has some features that the other lacks. However, the app can often be prone to glitching out or doesn’t recognize your account when setting up. It also needs more functionality in terms of prompts. Nevertheless, this is a recommended app to try out for added security.