---
title: "Two-Factor Authentication"
description: "Add an extra layer of security to your Sealmetrics account with 2FA/TOTP."
canonical_url: "https://docs.sealmetrics.com/security-privacy/account-security/two-factor-auth"
lang: "en"
date_generated: "2026-09-14T13:48:10.438Z"
source_hash: "8fcaf961a1b1db95732089ec6864fffc64aeae593929dcbbc1007906bc3bbac5"
content_type: "trust-and-legal"
owner: "legal"
llm_priority: "critical"
source_file: "security-privacy/account-security/two-factor-auth.mdx"
publisher: "Sealmetrics"
---

# Two-Factor Authentication

Canonical page: https://docs.sealmetrics.com/security-privacy/account-security/two-factor-auth

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

| App | Platform | Notes |
|-----|----------|-------|
| Google Authenticator | iOS, Android | Simple, widely used |
| Authy | iOS, Android, Desktop | Cloud backup, multi-device |
| 1Password | All platforms | Integrated with password manager |
| Microsoft Authenticator | iOS, Android | Good for Microsoft ecosystems |
| Bitwarden | All platforms | Open 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.

```text
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

```text
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.

```text
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.

```text
Verify Setup
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app

[______]

[Verify & Enable]
```

### Step 5: Confirm Enabled

```text
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:

```text
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

```text
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:**

### 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).

```text
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:**

## 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

## Related

- [Backup Codes](./backup-codes) - Managing your recovery codes
- [Session Management](./session-management) - View and manage active sessions
- [IP Allowlist](./ip-allowlist) - Restrict access by IP address