Microsoft Authenticator is an app that provides easy and secure sign-ins for all your online accounts through multi-factor authentication, passwordless, or password autofill. The app offers additional account management options for your Microsoft personal, work, or school accounts.
Multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication (2FA) provides an additional layer of security. When logging in with multi-factor authentication, you will enter your password and then be asked for an additional way to prove it’s really you. You can approve the notifications sent to the Microsoft Authenticator app or enter the one-time password (OTP) generated by the app. The OTP codes have a 30-second timer counting down, ensuring that you do not have to remember the number or re-use the same time-based one-time password (TOTP). The OTP does not require network connectivity and does not drAIn your battery. You can add multiple accounts, including non-Microsoft accounts like Facebook, Amazon, Dropbox, Google, LinkedIn, GitHub, and more.
In addition to 2FA, you can also use passwordless authentication to log in to your Microsoft account. Rather than entering your password, you can use your phone to log in. Simply enter your username and approve the notifications sent to your phone, and your fingerprint, faceID, or PIN will provide a second layer of security in this two-step verification process.
Microsoft Authenticator also features a password autofill option, which allows the app to automatically fill in passwords for you. You can sign in on the Passwords tab inside the Authenticator app with your personal Microsoft account to start syncing passwords, including those saved in Microsoft Edge. You can make Microsoft Authenticator the default autofill provider and start autofilling passwords on apps and sites you visit on your mobile. Your passwords are protected with multi-factor authentication in the app, and you will need to prove yourself with your fingerprint, faceID, or PIN to access and autofill passwords on your mobile. You can also import passwords from Google Chrome and other password managers.
Overall, Microsoft Authenticator simplifies the authentication process, making it quicker and more secure by incorporating additional layers of identity verification.
