FragDenStaat 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
FragDenStaat is the German platform for sending freedom-of-information requests to public authorities, and your account there holds your requests, the replies you get back and, if you give, your donations. Two-factor login is optional. FragDenStaat offers three second factors: a FIDO2 security key (or Face ID and Touch ID on a phone), an authenticator app, and recovery codes (FragDenStaat). The site and its help pages are in German, so the labels below are German, with a translation next to them.
This guide sets up the authenticator app with Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any app that makes standard time-based codes works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the FragDenStaat steps come from FragDenStaat's own help pages, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a FragDenStaat account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
What changes once it's on
FragDenStaat's help page is short on setup screens but clear about the effects (FragDenStaat):
- Every login asks for the second factor after your password.
- Links in FragDenStaat's emails normally sign you in by themselves. With two-factor login on, they ask for the second factor too. That covers a lot of mail, since FragDenStaat's automated emails carry buttons and links that log you in (FragDenStaat).
- Resetting your password by email still works, but two-factor login stays on afterwards, so access to your inbox alone doesn't get anyone past the second factor.
- Sensitive settings, such as changing your password or exporting all your data, ask you to confirm with your password or second factor again once some time has passed since you last signed in.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
- Sign in at fragdenstaat.de, click your name at the top right and open Einstellungen (settings) (FragDenStaat).
- Find Zwei-Faktor-Login einrichten (set up two-factor login) in your account settings (FragDenStaat).
- Choose the authenticator app, called Authentifizierungs-App on the help page.
- In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code on your screen. If you're on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If FragDenStaat asks for a code to confirm, type the current one from Novaz.
FragDenStaat's help doesn't describe the setup screens themselves, so it doesn't say whether a text key is shown next to the QR code or what it's called. If you get one, tap +, then Enter key manually, and type it as the Setup key. FragDenStaat says its codes have 6 digits and change every 30 seconds, which is what Novaz uses for a typed key (FragDenStaat). More in What is a 2FA setup key?
Generate recovery codes straight away
Recovery codes aren't created for you. FragDenStaat lists them as a separate factor and says you should generate one or more once another method is set up. Each one works for a single login if you lose your other factors. When you create a code, you can copy it or download it as a text file, then store it safely or print it (FragDenStaat).
Unless you back up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so these codes are your way back in. Make at least two and keep them away from the phone. See 2FA backup codes.
A second option FragDenStaat suggests: register more than one security key, so one can stand in for another.
If FragDenStaat rejects your code
FragDenStaat's help has no advice on rejected codes. Since the codes are time-based, start with the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Also check that you're reading the FragDenStaat entry and typing the current code. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
FragDenStaat doesn't document a way to move the authenticator. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and the codes keep working. Without one, set up the new phone while you can still sign in with the old one, in the same Zwei-Faktor-Login einrichten section. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Sign in with one of your recovery codes, or with a security key if you added one, then set up the app again. FragDenStaat's help doesn't describe what happens if you have no factor left: there's no documented recovery process, no list of proof it asks for, and no time frame. A password reset by email won't help, because two-factor login stays on after it. The only contact the help pages give for questions they don't answer is info@fragdenstaat.de (FragDenStaat). More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
The help page says you manage your methods in the account settings, but it doesn't describe removing them.
