Chartbeat 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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Chartbeat is the real-time audience analytics tool that newsrooms and publishers use for dashboards, the Big Board and email reports. You sign in with your email address or username and a password, or through your company's single sign-on (SSO) if your organization has set that up (Chartbeat). Two-factor authentication (2FA) is something you turn on yourself; the help doesn't call it required. There are two methods: a "token generator", which is an authenticator app, or text messages (Chartbeat).
Chartbeat documents 2FA in a single six-step list, last updated July 14, 2019. It covers turning 2FA on and nothing else, so this guide also flags what it leaves open. We use Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone below; the steps are the same in other authenticator apps.
How we checked this guide: the Chartbeat steps come from Chartbeat's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. Its article pages show a bot check to automated readers, so we read the articles through the help center's public data feed on the same site, and compared the two-factor article with an archived copy saved on web.archive.org on April 14, 2026. The text was the same. We haven't tested the steps on a Chartbeat 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
Chartbeat's steps assume you're signed in on a desktop computer (Chartbeat), which suits scanning the QR code with your iPhone. The Chartbeat mobile app's settings only switch domains or sign you out (Chartbeat).
- Sign in at chartbeat.com. Hover over your avatar in the top right corner and click Settings (Chartbeat).
- In the menu on the left, select Sign In & Security.
- Click Enable.
- Choose the token generator method. The other choice, text message, asks for your cell phone number instead.
- Chartbeat shows a QR code. On your iPhone, open Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the computer screen.
- Type the verification code that Novaz now shows into Chartbeat to finish.
The 2019 article calls the page Sign-in & Security. Chartbeat's newer SSO templates from 2021 say Sign In & Security (Chartbeat), so you may see either.
The help doesn't mention a text key, code length or how often codes change. Scanning is the safer route, because the QR code carries those settings. If the screen does offer a key, add it in Novaz with +, then Enter key manually (Service, Account, Setup key); typed keys always get 6-digit codes that change every 30 seconds. See What is a 2FA setup key?
App or text message
Setup asks you to pick one method. The app is the stronger choice, since its codes are made on your phone and can't be redirected to another SIM. Chartbeat's help doesn't say whether you can add the text option later as a fallback. More on the trade-off in Authenticator app vs. SMS.
If your organization uses SSO
Chartbeat supports SAML-based SSO. Once your account is linked, you're sent to your company's identity service to sign in, and whether you're signed in to Chartbeat follows that service (Chartbeat). Chartbeat can't help with that service's passwords (Chartbeat). Its help doesn't say whether Chartbeat's own 2FA still applies to SSO users, so ask your IT team how two-factor works for your company account.
What the help page doesn't cover
- Backup codes. None are mentioned. If your setup screen offers any, save them somewhere other than your phone. They'd be your way back in if the phone is lost and you have no current Novaz backup. See 2FA backup codes.
- When codes are asked for. The help doesn't say whether Chartbeat asks at every sign-in or only on new browsers, or how the mobile app handles the second step.
- Turning 2FA off or changing phones. Neither is described. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone. Without one, before you switch phones, look on Sign In & Security for a way to change or turn off the authenticator while you can still sign in. If there isn't one, contact Chartbeat before you wipe the old phone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If Chartbeat rejects your code
Chartbeat gives no advice for rejected codes. Start with your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is off by 15 seconds or more. Other fixes are in Authenticator code not working?
If you lose your authenticator
Chartbeat doesn't document a recovery route for a lost authenticator. Its general advice for sign-in trouble is to go to your organization's admin first, then to Chartbeat (Chartbeat):
- Your admin. Admins can configure accounts and manage permissions for your organization. You find them under Settings > Organization Admins, which you can only see while signed in, so note who they are now (Chartbeat).
- Chartbeat support. Use the request form or email support@chartbeat.com (Chartbeat). For an unexpected error at sign-in, Chartbeat asks you to send a screenshot of the error and the email address you used.
Chartbeat doesn't say what other proof it needs to remove 2FA from an account or how long it takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
