If you’re trying to protect your online account, two-factor authentication (2FA) is the way to go. However, sometimes it can be troublesome as it means having to download and use a third-party authenticator app which can slow down the sign-in process, which in turn might dissuade people from using it.In an attempt to try and remove the barriers to entry for 2FA, Apple has announced that with iOS 15, they will be building an authenticator into the OS itself. This means that users can rely on iOS to generate verification codes for websites and services that use 2FA as one of their login methods.
According to Apple, “Generate verification codes needed for additional sign-in security. If a site offers two-factor authentication, you can set up verification codes under Passwords in Settings — no need to download an additional app. Once set up, verification codes autofill when you sign in to the site.”
The goal is to make it a more streamlined process which could do away with the need for third-party apps like Google Authenticator and Authy. However, this is only in theory. We have yet to try it out for ourselves so we can’t speak to how effective it will be, but it might be something worth checking out once iOS 15 has been released to the masses.