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Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Two-factor authentication adds a second layer of security beyond your password, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access.

Why Enable 2FA?​

Even with a strong password, your account can be compromised through:

  • Password reuse from other breached sites
  • Phishing attacks
  • Keyloggers or malware
  • Shoulder surfing

With 2FA enabled, attackers need both your password AND physical access to your authenticator device.

Supported Methods​

TOTP (Time-based One-Time Password)​

Sealmetrics uses TOTP, the industry standard for 2FA:

  • 6-digit codes that change every 30 seconds
  • Works offline (no SMS needed)
  • Compatible with all major authenticator apps

Compatible Apps​

AppPlatformNotes
Google AuthenticatoriOS, AndroidSimple, widely used
AuthyiOS, Android, DesktopCloud backup, multi-device
1PasswordAll platformsIntegrated with password manager
Microsoft AuthenticatoriOS, AndroidGood for Microsoft ecosystems
BitwardenAll platformsOpen source

Enabling 2FA​

Step 1: Access Security Settings​

  1. In the sidebar, go to My Account → Security
  2. Find the Two-Factor Authentication section

Step 2: Start Setup​

Click Enable 2FA. You'll be asked to enter your current password to begin setup.

Two-Factor Authentication
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Status: Not enabled

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer
of security by requiring a code from your
phone in addition to your password.

[Enable 2FA]

Step 3: Scan QR Code and Save Backup Codes​

Set Up Two-Factor Authentication
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Step 1: Scan this QR code with your authenticator app

    ┌─────────────────────┐
    │  ▄▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄   │
    │  █   █ ▀▀▀ █   █   │
    │  █▄▄▄█ ▄▄▄ █▄▄▄█   │
    │  ▄▄▄▄▄ █▀█ ▄▄▄▄▄   │
    │  █   █ ▀▀▀ █   █   │
    │  █▄▄▄█     █▄▄▄█   │
    └─────────────────────┘

Can't scan? Enter this code manually:
XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX (your unique secret)

On the same screen, Sealmetrics shows your 10 backup codes. Save them somewhere safe before continuing — you'll use them to sign in if you lose your authenticator device. Each code can be used once.

Backup Codes
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

⚠️ Save these codes somewhere safe!

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  abc12-def34          ghi56-jkl78       │
│  mno90-pqr12          stu34-vwx56       │
│  yza78-bcd90          efg12-hij34       │
│  klm56-nop78          qrs90-tuv12       │
│  wxy34-zab56          cde78-fgh90       │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

[Copy All Codes]

[I've saved my backup codes]

Step 4: Verify the Code​

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app to confirm setup.

Verify Setup
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

[______]

[Verify & Enable]

Step 5: Confirm Enabled​

Two-Factor Authentication
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Status: ✅ Enabled

Enabled on: January 15, 2024

Backup codes remaining: 10 of 10

[Regenerate Codes] [Disable 2FA]

Signing In with 2FA​

After entering your email and password:

Two-Factor Authentication
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

[______]

[Verify]

Having trouble?
→ Use a backup code instead

Using Backup Codes​

If you can't access your authenticator:

  1. Click Use a backup code instead
  2. Enter one of your saved backup codes
  3. Sign in successfully
  4. Code is marked as used
Use Backup Code
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Enter one of your backup codes:

[____________]

[Verify]

Note: Each backup code can only be used once.
After signing in, generate new codes if running low.

Managing 2FA​

The Two-Factor Authentication section in My Account → Security shows your status, the number of backup codes remaining (e.g. "8 of 10 codes remaining"), and buttons to Regenerate Codes and Disable 2FA.

note

Backup codes are only displayed once — when you first enable 2FA and again each time you regenerate them. Sealmetrics does not let you re-view existing codes later. If you can't find them, regenerate a new set.

Regenerate Codes​

When running low on backup codes:

  1. Go to My Account → Security
  2. In Two-Factor Authentication, click Regenerate Codes
  3. Enter your current 6-digit 2FA code to confirm
  4. Save the new codes securely — the old codes stop working immediately

Change Authenticator App​

To switch to a different authenticator:

  1. Disable 2FA (requires current code)
  2. Re-enable with new app
  3. Scan new QR code
  4. Save new backup codes

Disable 2FA​

Disabling 2FA requires both your password and a current verification code (a 6-digit code from your authenticator app, or a backup code).

Disable Two-Factor Authentication
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

⚠️ This will make your account less secure.

Password:          [________________]
Verification code: [______]
(6-digit code or a backup code)

[Disable 2FA]

Lost Access to Authenticator​

If You Have Backup Codes​

  1. Sign in with backup code
  2. Go to My Account → Security
  3. Disable 2FA (requires your password and a backup code)
  4. Re-enable with new device

If You Don't Have Backup Codes​

Contact support for account recovery:

  1. Email security@sealmetrics.com
  2. Provide:
    • Account email
    • Proof of identity (ID document)
    • Recent activity details you remember
  3. Support will verify and assist
warning

Account recovery without backup codes takes 2-5 business days for security verification.

Security Best Practices​

Do​

  • ✅ Use a reputable authenticator app
  • ✅ Save backup codes in a secure location (password manager, safe)
  • ✅ Keep backup codes separate from your password
  • ✅ Regenerate codes after using some

Don't​

  • ❌ Store backup codes in plaintext on your computer
  • ❌ Share your authenticator with others
  • ❌ Screenshot your QR code
  • ❌ Disable 2FA without good reason

Troubleshooting​

"Invalid Code" Error​

  1. Check your device time is accurate (TOTP is time-based)
  2. Ensure you're entering code for Sealmetrics (not another service)
  3. Wait for new code (codes change every 30 seconds)
  4. Try using a backup code

Authenticator Shows Wrong Time​

TOTP requires accurate time:

iPhone: Settings → General → Date & Time → Set Automatically

Android: Settings → Date & Time → Automatic date & time

Syncing Issues with Authy​

  1. Open Authy settings
  2. Tap "Sync" to refresh
  3. Try code again
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