Google Authenticator Removes Click to Reveal PIN Feature With New Update

Google Authenticator has removed the ‘Click to reveal PIN’ feature with the latest update. Google had reportedly rolled out the v5.20 update in May, that hid the two-factor authentication (2FA) code until the user tapped to reveal it. The update was intended to add extra security, but was not received well by the users. The Google Authenticator v5.20R4 update is back-tracking this feature. In 2020, Google also released an update for its Authenticator app to allow users to manage their account security keys easily while switching to a different phone. Updates to the Google Authenticator app are not frequent on both Android and iOS. Google has emphasised that security is a “high priority” for them.

Google has removed the ‘Click to reveal PIN’ feature from its Authenticator app with the v5.20R4 update. To recall, the ‘Click to reveal PIN’ was reportedly was introduced with the Google Authenticator v5.20 for added security in May. The feature added an extra step to see the 2FA code. The users’ comments on Google Play regarding the latest update indicate their discontent with many expressing how this added layer of security slowed down the app.

In May 2020, Google released an update for its Authenticator app to allow users to manage their account security keys easily while switching to a different phone. Google Authenticator v5.10 on Android allowed users to transfer their 2FA or 2-step-verification (2SV) codes from one phone to another. So far, if one migrated to a new phone, the person had to repeat the entire process of verifying and generating 2SV codes.

As mentioned earlier, Google has emphasised that security is a “high priority” for them. It said that no data is sent to Google servers while the 2SV codes are transferred and that users are alerted to make them know that a transfer has taken place. However, in February 2020 there were reports saying that the Google Authenticator codes can allegedly be stolen by an Android Malware called “Cerberus”.