Why Use Gmail Two-Factor Authentication?
Your email account contains a lot of valuable information. It’s likely the account you use for everything, from your online banking to your social media accounts and potentially even work related issues. Keeping all that information in one place is useful for you, but potentially dangerous, too. If a hacker is able to bypass your password, they can gain access to a lot of important information as well as your identity. Two-factor authentication requires you to have access to a physical device like your smartphone, as well as have your virtual password, making it much harder for anyone to access your email account.
How Gmail Two-Factor Authentication Works
Gmail two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security by requiring you to have both your password and a special security key to access your Gmail account. Typically, this involves Google sending you a verification code that’s unique to your account via text, voice call, or via the Google Authenticator app. Each code is only usable once and expires within minutes, so it’s very secure.
How to Turn on Gmail 2-Step Verification
It only takes a few minutes to set up Gmail 2FA.
How to Turn Off Gmail Two-Factor Authentication
We don’t recommend disabling Gmail 2-step verification, but for those times when you need to, here’s how.
How to Set Up Alternate Verification Steps for Your Gmail Account
If you want to set up different forms of verification than a text message or voice call, there are ways of doing it. Here’s how to change the second form of verification.
