IdeaSift

People struggle to access two-factor codes without their phone

People who rely on TOTP codes can be blocked from logging in when their phone is unavailable, they do not have a smartphone, or they need to authenticate on a desktop. Mobile-first apps and the loss of Authy’s desktop app have left some users looking for replacements, while manually opening an app and copying codes remains tedious. Some users resort to custom scripts or manual copy-and-paste rather than a convenient desktop workflow.

For desktop-first workers and phone-constrained account holders. Mentioned from Sep 2018 to Jun 2026 on Bluesky, product forums, GitHub, Hacker News and Stack Exchange.

21 different people described this problem in 21 separate discussions.

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0 mentions in the last 12 weeks
Indie fit
2.0/10
Pain
6.0/10
Frequency
10.0/10
Willingness to pay
0.0/10
Momentum
5.0/10
Who pays
Consumers
Competition
High
Build difficulty
Medium

What people said

Quoted word for word. Follow a link to read the whole discussion.

  1. My phone died randomly, and now I have nowhere to go to log in into accounts
    ghost on GitHub (twofas/2fas-android)Feb 2024+30 upvotesAsked for a toolHas a workaround
  2. Authy for desktop will not be available as of March 18th and I am looking for a good reputable alternative that is free
    Yael on softwarerecs.stackexchange.comFeb 2024Asked for a toolWants to switch
Build brief

See what to build and who will buy it

  • 2 product ideas with the smallest useful version and pricing
  • 5 places to find your first customers
  • 19 more quotes from people who have this problem
  • Current workarounds, existing solutions and risks