Brave Creators 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Brave Creators is where website owners and video or social media creators register their channels to receive BAT (Basic Attention Token) and other crypto contributions from Brave browser users. Its older address on the Basic Attention Token domain, publishers.basicattentiontoken.org, still opens the same Brave Creators site. You sign in with a link sent to your email address (Brave), so the account is only as safe as that inbox. Two-factor authentication (2FA) adds a second step on top.
Brave offers two methods: an authenticator app and a hardware security key (Brave). Brave's help doesn't say 2FA is required. Know what losing it costs: a 2-day wait, then verifying your channels and reconnecting your payout account (more below). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Brave Creators steps come from Brave's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. Its pages refused a plain request, so we read the same articles through the help center's public article feed on support.brave.app, including the screenshot in the 2FA article. We haven't tested them on a Brave Creators account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Brave's help says the setting is in your security settings, and that you can scan a QR code or type a numeric code into your app (Brave). The steps below follow that article and its screenshot:
- Sign in at creators.brave.com and open the Security settings.
- Under Two-factor Authentication, the status shows Not Enabled. Next to App on your phone, choose Set Up.
- Brave shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you'd rather type it, use the code Brave shows instead of the QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and fill in Service (for example, Brave Creators), Account if you like, and Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Enter the code from Novaz if Brave asks for one. Brave's article doesn't describe this last screen.
Brave's help doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, because it carries those settings to your app. A key typed by hand always gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.
The screenshot's text mentions Brave Payments rather than Brave Creators, and the article suggests Authy. Any authenticator app works.
Security key and authenticator together
The same screen has Hardware security keys with an Add Key button, for a USB key that you press instead of typing a code. If you use a security key, Brave's screen recommends adding an authenticator app as a second method, in case the key gives you trouble (Brave). Having both is the only documented backup.
No backup codes are documented
The 2FA article warns you to keep a backup of your 2FA codes, but Brave's help doesn't describe recovery codes or where you'd get them. If the setup screen offers any, save them away from your phone. Unless you've made a Novaz backup (iCloud backup or a backup file), its keys exist only on your iPhone, so a second method such as a security key matters more.
When Brave asks for a code
The setup screen says you'll be asked for the app's code when you log in (Brave). Brave's help doesn't mention remembered devices or extra checks for payouts.
If Brave rejects your code
Brave's help doesn't cover rejected codes. The usual cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
If you lose your authenticator
If you added a security key, sign in with that. Otherwise, Brave's lockout article describes a self-service removal (Brave):
- Start signing in to Brave Creators as usual.
- Choose We can help at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose Request 2-factor Security Removal.
A wait screen then counts down a 2-day waiting period. You can cancel the request from that screen, and Brave emails you about it. Once 2FA is removed, you'll need to verify your channels again and add your wallet again, and there's a 30-day wait before you can reconnect it.
The other route is a new Brave Creators account under a different email address: verify your old channels there, and Brave says they move over within 10 days, BAT balance included. The older 2FA article mentions only this route, so options may differ from what you see.
See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Changing phones and turning 2FA off
Brave's help doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone or turning it off from the settings. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone. Without one, before you give up the old phone, check the Security settings for a way to replace the app. If there isn't one, the removal request above is the documented route. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
