Contentful 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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Contentful is a headless content platform: teams model, write and publish website and app content in the Contentful web app. Its two-factor authentication (2FA) works one way only: a code from an authenticator app. Contentful turned down text messages on purpose, citing SIM swapping, so there's no SMS fallback (Contentful). It's free on every plan and optional for most people. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Contentful steps come from Contentful's own Help Center and changelog, linked below. Contentful's website blocked our automated requests, so we read the Help Center pages in archived copies on web.archive.org (saved between April and October 2026) and the changelog through Contentful's own RSS feed, on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Contentful account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Is it required?
For a regular account, no. It's your choice.
There's one exception. If your company signs you in through single sign-on (SSO), an admin can exempt some people from SSO, such as contractors or a break-glass account. In November 2025, Contentful let admins require 2FA for those exempt users, who then have to set it up the next time they sign in (Contentful). If your organization enforces SSO and you aren't exempt, you sign in through your identity provider instead (Contentful).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
- Sign in to the Contentful web app, click your avatar in the top right corner, then click Account settings. That opens your User profile page (Contentful).
- Click Enable 2FA (Contentful).
- Contentful 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 and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you can't scan, Contentful also shows what its help calls a manual code. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, put "Contentful" in Service, and type the code as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the code Novaz shows into Contentful and click Enable.
Contentful's help doesn't say how long its codes are or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer route, because it passes those settings to your app. A key typed by hand gets 6 digits every 30 seconds.
No backup codes
Contentful's 2FA page doesn't mention backup or recovery codes, and doesn't offer a second method. That matters with Novaz: unless you turn on iCloud backup or export a backup file, its keys stay only on your iPhone. If that iPhone is lost and you have no Novaz backup, your route back in is Contentful's support team (below). Before you turn 2FA on, make sure you can still read mail at the address on your Contentful account.
Signing in afterwards
Once 2FA is on, Contentful asks for your password first, then for a code from your authenticator app (Contentful). Its pages don't describe trusted devices or any way to skip the code on a computer you use often. They also only describe the password sign-in, and don't say how 2FA behaves if you sign in with GitHub or Google, which Contentful also accepts (Contentful).
If Contentful rejects your code
Contentful's sign-in help only says to type the latest code (Contentful). So wait for a fresh one rather than reusing a code that's about to expire. If fresh codes still fail, check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
Contentful doesn't document a phone switch. The pieces it does document are turning 2FA off and on from your User profile page. So, while the old iPhone still works, turn 2FA off, then click Enable 2FA again and scan the new QR code with the new phone. If you use iCloud backup or a backup file in Novaz, you can skip this and restore your accounts on the new iPhone. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Contentful's answer for a lost phone is to contact support, writing from the email address of the account you want back (Contentful). Its support page links sign-in problems to support@contentful.com (Contentful). Contentful doesn't say what else it asks you to prove or how long this takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
On your User profile page, click Disable, then click Disable again when Contentful asks you to confirm (Contentful).
For organization admins
The Users tab in your organization settings has a 2FA status column. It shows Enabled for each person who has 2FA on, and stays blank for anyone who hasn't turned it on or isn't eligible (Contentful). Contentful's pages don't say who counts as not eligible. The only way to require 2FA that they describe is the one for SSO-exempt users above.
