Authy corrupted my 2FA backup and all I got was this lousy blogpost

Just got off Authy. They've done everything to trap customers into their broken platform, primarily by never allowing the user to export their tokens, either to file, or to another MFA application.

They also stopped supporting their desktop app, forcing users back onto a single point of failure: the mobile app.

If Twilio isn't going to support Authy in good faith, they should stop holding their remaining users hostage.

Re: Authy corrupted my 2FA backup and all I got was this lousy blogpost

#5

Post by CameronBanga » Tue, May 20, 2025, 4:05 PM UTC

codalan wrote: post #4

Just got off Authy. They've done everything to trap customers into their broken platform, primarily by never allowing the user to export their tokens, either to file, or to another MFA application. They also stopped supporting their desktop app, forcing users back onto a single point of failure: the mobile app. If Twilio isn't going to support Authy in good faith, they should stop holding their remaining users hostag…

I should have been smarter and thought about looking at export sooner, it wasn't until I had this issue that I dug in and realized how bad it was.

Re: Authy corrupted my 2FA backup and all I got was this lousy blogpost

#6

Post by nikolay » Tue, May 20, 2025, 4:08 PM UTC

Authy did this with me years ago, too, destroyed my tokens, I had different lists of tokens on different devices, too - that's why I kept an old phone as it had some of my accounts in there. Do not touch that steamy pile even with a 10-foot pole! It's unfortunately that some providers recognized by your phone number that you have Authy and for you to use it!

Re: Authy corrupted my 2FA backup and all I got was this lousy blogpost

#7

Post by rubatuga » Tue, May 20, 2025, 4:32 PM UTC

It's pretty obvious that you should be backing up the actual TOTP secrets not relying on an app to manage it. I use 2FAS Auth which allows export. The other alternative is to use multiple devices for each 2FA account (the original intent?)

Re: Authy corrupted my 2FA backup and all I got was this lousy blogpost

#8

Post by dehrmann » Tue, May 20, 2025, 4:33 PM UTC

I thought we all moved to Bitwarden a decade ago?

Re: Authy corrupted my 2FA backup and all I got was this lousy blogpost

#9

Post by ChrisArchitect » Tue, May 20, 2025, 5:46 PM UTC

tl;dr

> Much to my surprise, when checking the App Store page, I saw that an update to the app had been approved by Apple only 14 minutes prior. I downloaded the update, tapped upon one of the previously "locked" items, and entered my backup password. Boom, the previously locked 2FA codes were now unlocked and restored, ready for use.

Re: Authy corrupted my 2FA backup and all I got was this lousy blogpost

#10

Post by foxyv » Tue, May 20, 2025, 5:58 PM UTC

codalan wrote: post #4

Just got off Authy. They've done everything to trap customers into their broken platform, primarily by never allowing the user to export their tokens, either to file, or to another MFA application. They also stopped supporting their desktop app, forcing users back onto a single point of failure: the mobile app. If Twilio isn't going to support Authy in good faith, they should stop holding their remaining users hostag…

Most 2FA apps don't allow export for security reasons. I usually just re-generate all my TOTP keys manually. It's terribly painful, but I used to do it with every phone upgrade.