Authenticators - select the right one.


One day, while getting very frustrated with Microsoft (MS) Authenticator during a phone migration, copilot gave me a run down of the differences between Microsoft Authenticator and Google Authenticator.

I've pasted the run down below but what it does NOT make clear is that Microsoft Authenticator does NOT fully cloud backup tokens so that they can restored on another phone via the primary account.  MS Authenticator only "backs up" essentially the token name (email).  Only token names restore to the new phone during a migration.   If you're using Microsoft Authenticator for you MS accounts then *every* account must be manually restored, pretty much in the same way it was setup originally, but scanning an onscreen QR code.  This is a very long job if you have a lot of Microsoft Account tokens.

While Google Authenticator does not have the same features it does successfully backup and restore tokens to the Google Drive making phone migration a LOT simpler.


*****

Both Microsoft Authenticator and Google Authenticator serve the same core purpose of generating time-based one-time passwords for two-factor authentication (2FA) logins. However, they have some key differences:

Authentication Methods:

Microsoft Authenticator: Offers time-based codes, push notifications, and biometrics (like fingerprints or face recognition) for sign-in approvals.

Google Authenticator: Only provides time-based or counter-based codes1.

Additional Features:

Microsoft Authenticator: Includes password management, payment card storage, address management, and Verified IDs.

Google Authenticator: Focuses solely on generating authentication codes1.

Account Requirement:

Microsoft Authenticator: Requires a Microsoft account sign-in (optional).

Google Authenticator: Requires a Google account sign-in (optional)1.

Autofill Capability:

Microsoft Authenticator: Supports autofill in Microsoft and third-party apps.

Google Authenticator: Does not have autofill capabilities1.

Backup and Restore:

Microsoft Authenticator: Supports backup and restore through Microsoft and iCloud accounts (for iOS).

Google Authenticator: Allows backup and restore through a Google account1.



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