Proton Authenticator

Start by locking down the accounts you use every day. Install Proton Authenticator, open the app, and add your first service by scanning the site’s setup QR or entering the shared key the site provides. The app creates a rolling six-digit code that updates every 30 seconds; use it alongside your password to finish enrollment. Repeat for email, cloud storage, banking, developer tools, and anything else that supports time-based codes. Because codes are generated locally, you can enroll and sign in even when you’re in airplane mode. Keep the setup screens open on a computer while you verify each code so you don’t lose access mid-change.

Once you’ve added your accounts, the daily flow is simple: type your username and password, open the app, and read the matching code. If a site offers backup codes, save them in a safe place before you leave the settings page. When a service shows a recovery key string instead of a QR, paste it into the manual entry option. Give each entry a name that matches the site so you can find it quickly at login. If you manage multiple environments—personal, work, staging—add a short tag to the label (for example, "Acme-Prod" vs "Acme-Dev") to prevent mix-ups.

For sensitive workplaces, adopt the same routine across admin dashboards, cloud consoles, source control, and password vaults. Enforce 2FA during onboarding: employees scan the setup code into Proton Authenticator while HR or IT verifies the first login. Because the app doesn’t use ads or analytics and doesn’t ship your secrets to a server, it fits privacy requirements without extra paperwork. If someone changes phones, guide them to move 2FA by turning it off and back on for each account, scanning into the new device during the handover. Have users keep a sealed copy of recovery codes in physical storage for emergencies.

Traveling or working in low-connectivity regions? Your one-time codes keep working offline, so you can access accounts from a hotel lobby, a datacenter cage, or a plane. If you ever lose the device, follow the standard recovery path: use the service’s backup codes or contact support to reset 2FA, then immediately re-enroll with the new phone. Pair Proton Authenticator with a reliable password manager to reduce typos and speed up sign-ins; the authenticator supplies the second factor, the manager fills credentials. Built by Proton, the team behind Proton Mail and Proton VPN, the app takes a strict privacy stance—no advertising, no telemetry, no data harvesting—so your security layer stays yours.