Two-factor authentication and passkeys
Add a code from your phone to your account's sign-in, keep backup codes, and sign in with a passkey from app.filarr.com.
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Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a second check when you sign in to your Filarr account: after your password, you type a 6-digit code that an app on your phone creates. A passkey lets you sign in to your account with your fingerprint, your face or your device's code, without typing a password.
Both protect access to your account. Neither replaces the password that decrypts your files.
Turn on two-factor authentication
You need an authenticator app on your phone, such as Authy, Google Authenticator or 1Password.
- Open Settings → Security.
- Next to Two-factor authentication (2FA), click Enable.
- In the Enable two-factor authentication window, scan the QR code with your authenticator app. If you cannot scan it, type the code shown under Manual entry (secret key) into the app.
- Click Next.
- Type the 6-digit code that your app shows, then click Verify.
Two-factor authentication is on as soon as the code is accepted. Filarr then shows your 8 backup codes.
- Save them: Copy puts them on the clipboard, Print works in the desktop app. Write them down or store them in a password manager.
- Tick I saved my backup codes in a safe place, then click Done.
The Two-factor authentication (2FA) row now reads "Enabled. 8 backup codes remaining."
Sign in with two-factor authentication
After your email and password, Filarr opens the Two-factor authentication window.
- Type the code from your app: "Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app."
- Tick Remember this device for 30 days if this device is yours. Filarr will not ask for the code here again during that time.
- Click Validate.
Filarr forgets the remembered devices when you change your password or recover your account with your 24-word phrase.
Backup codes
Backup codes help when your phone is not with you. Each code works once, in place of the 6-digit code.
- In the Two-factor authentication window, click Use a backup code.
- Type one of your codes, then click Validate. Codes are two groups of four letters and digits, separated by a dash. Once used, a code no longer works.
To go back to the app's code, click Use authenticator app.
Backup codes only replace the app's code at sign-in. They are not recovery phrases, and they unlock no data.
To get a fresh set, for example when few codes are left:
- Open Settings → Security.
- Next to Two-factor authentication (2FA), click Regenerate backup codes.
- Enter your Account password and the Current TOTP code from your app, then click Validate.
- Save the new codes. The old ones stop working.
Turn off two-factor authentication
- Open Settings → Security.
- Next to Two-factor authentication (2FA), click Disable.
- In the Disable 2FA window, enter your Account password and a code in TOTP or backup code.
- Click Disable.
You can turn it back on later with the same steps as the first time.
If your organization requires two-factor authentication, Filarr asks you to set it up when you sign in ("Your organization requires two-factor authentication"). Follow the same steps, then click Finish and sign in.
Passkeys
A passkey signs you in to your account with what your device already knows: your fingerprint, your face or its code. It proves two things at once, that you hold the device and that you can unlock it. So Filarr does not ask for your 2FA code when you sign in with a passkey.
A passkey opens the account, not your files. Filarr still asks for your vault password on a device that does not have your key yet: "You are signed in. This device does not have your vault key yet: enter your password once to decrypt it."
Why passkeys live in the web app
Create a passkey
- Go to https://app.filarr.com and sign in.
- Open Settings → Security. The Passkeys section is at the top.
- Type a name in the field that reads "This computer, my phone…", for example the name of the device that holds the passkey.
- Click Add a passkey.
- Follow your browser's or your system's prompt.
Filarr shows Passkey added, and the passkey appears in the list with its name. The word synced appears next to it when your system or your password manager keeps a copy of it on your other devices. You can register up to 20 passkeys.
Sign in with a passkey
- On the sign-in screen of the web app, click Sign in with a passkey.
- Confirm on your device with your fingerprint, your face or your code.
Remove a passkey
In the list of the Passkeys section, in the web app, click Remove next to the passkey.