Community shares thoughts on 2FAuth's iOS companion app
2FAuth is a self-hosted app for managing two-factor authentication (OTP) codes on your own server instead of relying on Google Authenticator or Authy. A developer named Ryan Ellis-Potter built an iOS companion app so you can access your self-hosted 2FAuth from your iPhone. A Reddit thread in r/selfhosted is gathering real-world opinions on the app.
2FAuth lets you store and generate one-time login codes (the 6-digit numbers used for two-factor authentication) on a server you control — like a Mac mini at home. Until now, it was mainly a web app accessed through a browser, which made it awkward to use on a phone. The new iOS companion app connects directly to your own 2FAuth server, making it much easier to grab codes on the go.
For anyone running a home server, this is a practical option for keeping full control over your authentication data without trusting a third-party app. The main trade-off: if your server goes offline or you lose access to your home network, you could be locked out of your login codes, so having a backup method is important.
Key points
- 2FAuth is a self-hosted manager for two-factor authentication codes — runs on your own server
- The iOS companion app lets you access your server's OTP codes directly from an iPhone
- Keeps your authentication data off third-party cloud services like Google or Authy
- If your server goes down, you lose access to codes — always keep a backup
- Thread in r/selfhosted collects real-user experiences with the iOS app
Quick term guide
- self-hosted
- Run on your own server instead of managed by another company.
- two-factor authentication (OTP)
- A security step where you enter a short temporary code — in addition to your password — to prove it's really you logging in.
- two-factor authentication
- A security step that asks for something extra, like an app code, after the password.
- authentication
- The login or identity check that proves who a user is.
- r/selfhosted
- A Reddit community about running software on your own computer or server.
- home server
- A personal computer setup at home used to run services or store files instead of regular daily use.
- Cloud services
- Using powerful computers owned by other companies via the internet.
- user experience
- How easy and pleasant it is for a person to use a product.