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Novaz AuthenticatorGET

Algolia 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5

On this page
  1. Who can't set it up here
  2. Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
  3. Recovery codes
  4. If Algolia rejects your code
  5. Changing phones
  6. If you lose your authenticator
  7. Turning 2FA off
  8. Official Algolia help

Your Algolia account is the login for the Algolia dashboard, where you create applications, manage indices and handle API keys. Two-factor authentication (2FA) there is a personal choice. Algolia has no setting that turns it on for a whole team, and no screen where an account owner can see which members use it (Algolia, Algolia). So if your team wants it, each person sets it up on their own account. The method is an authenticator app. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Algolia steps come from Algolia's own documentation and support articles, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We read the support articles through the help center's public article feed. We haven't tested them on an Algolia account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Who can't set it up here

  • Heroku sign-ups. If you got Algolia through Heroku, Algolia says you can't set up 2FA on the Algolia account, because Heroku runs and bills it (Algolia).
  • Teams with enforced SSO. When your company enforces single sign-on, you can only sign in through SSO and Algolia turns off the other sign-in methods (Algolia). Your identity provider then handles the second step. Algolia also lets SSO users turn off Algolia's own 2FA, and leaves that decision to your company's security rules (Algolia).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Algolia's security documentation and its support article describe the same steps (Algolia, Algolia):

  1. Sign in to the Algolia dashboard.
  2. In the left sidebar, select Settings.
  3. Select Account details.
  4. In the Two-factor authentication section, click Enable.
  5. Algolia shows a barcode (a QR code). In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the dashboard is open on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, then tap + and Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
  6. Save the recovery codes Algolia gives you somewhere safe.

Algolia's pages only describe scanning. They don't mention a text key to type instead, and they don't say how many digits the codes have or how often they change. Scanning is the better route anyway, because the QR code carries those settings to the app.

Recovery codes

Recovery codes are part of the setup, and Algolia asks you to store them securely (Algolia). Its pages don't say how many you get, how to use one at sign-in, or whether you can make a new set later.

Novaz keeps its keys on your iPhone unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, so if that phone is gone without a Novaz backup, the codes are what let you back in. Keep them in a password manager or on paper, away from the phone. More in 2FA backup codes.

If Algolia rejects your code

Algolia's help doesn't cover rejected codes. The most common cause is the phone's clock. On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. For other causes, see Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Algolia doesn't document a way to move 2FA to a new phone. In Novaz, an iCloud backup or backup file lets you restore your accounts on the new iPhone. Either way, keep the old phone and your recovery codes until Novaz on the new phone shows working Algolia codes. If you end up without either, the only documented fix is the Support reset below. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Try a recovery code first. If you don't have one, Algolia Support can reset 2FA on your account. Use the 2FA reset form linked from the support article, and include (Algolia):

  • your application ID,
  • the email address you sign in with, and
  • one of these: the last five characters of your Admin API key, or the last four digits and the expiration date of the credit card on the account.

Support resets 2FA once it has these details. Algolia doesn't say how long that takes. Algolia notes elsewhere that the Admin API key also appears in your own code and under API Keys in the dashboard, so a teammate may be able to read the last five characters for you (Algolia). Only ever send those last characters, never the whole key. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Algolia's pages don't describe how to turn 2FA off yourself. They only say it's allowed for users who sign in with SSO.

Official Algolia help

More guides: Developer tools