Kagi 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Kagi is the paid search engine, and one Kagi account now covers its other products too, such as Translate and Kagi Mail. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional. The one method Kagi's help describes is a code from an authenticator app, which Kagi then asks for each time you sign in with your email and password (Kagi). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app follows the same steps.

How we checked this guide: the Kagi steps come from Kagi's own help pages and its official changelog, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Kagi account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Where the setting is now

On September 10, 2026, Kagi moved every product to one account, managed at account.kagi.com. Its changelog says password and 2FA settings live there from that date, and that an existing authenticator setup keeps working without changes (Kagi). The same update added passkeys as a way to sign in.

Kagi's help article on 2FA still points to the older Account Settings page on kagi.com, and its steps were written before the move. So the labels below come from that article, and the screens at account.kagi.com may name things a little differently.

If you already used 2FA before September 2026

Your backup codes didn't move to the new account system. Kagi's changelog lists this as the one thing to act on: after you sign in, make a new set on the recovery page, account.kagi.com/account/security/recovery (Kagi). Do it while you can still sign in: the codes you saved before the move won't help you.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Kagi's help describes these steps (Kagi):

1. Sign in and open your account settings. The help article calls the page Account Settings; since the move, it's on account.kagi.com.
2. Click Get Started.
3. Kagi shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the code is on your iPhone's own screen, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
4. If you can't scan it, Kagi's help says you can copy the setup key instead. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and fill in Service (for example, Kagi), Account if you want, and the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
5. Download your backup codes and store them somewhere safe.
6. Type the code from Novaz into the boxes on the page, then click Continue.

Kagi doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, since the code carries those settings to your app. A key typed by hand in Novaz always gives 6-digit codes every 30 seconds.

Your backup codes

Kagi recommends downloading the backup codes during setup and keeping them safe, because they let you back in if you lose your authenticator app (Kagi). Keep them even if you back up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file: they're your way in if the phone is gone and that backup is missing or older than your Kagi entry. Keep them on paper or in a password manager. More in 2FA backup codes.

Signing in with 2FA on

After your username and password, Kagi asks for the code from your app (Kagi). Kagi's pages don't say whether the code is also asked for when you sign in with a passkey or with Google, Apple, Microsoft or GitHub.

Kagi also offers a log-in-with-QR-code option for TVs, consoles and shared computers: you scan a QR code on the new device with a phone where you're already signed in to Kagi (Kagi). That QR code is a sign-in request, not a 2FA setup code, so don't scan it with Novaz.

If Kagi rejects your code

Kagi'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. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Kagi doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. The documented route is to remove 2FA and set it up again: on the settings page, click Remove 2FA (Kagi), then repeat the setup with the new iPhone. Do this while the old phone still works. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can skip it and restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Sign in with one of your backup codes, then remove 2FA and set it up again with your new phone. Kagi doesn't document what happens if you've lost both your phone and your backup codes. The contact it lists for account problems is support@kagi.com (Kagi), and its FAQ says Kagi uses the email address on your account to confirm the account is yours, for example if you lose your password (Kagi). Kagi doesn't say what else it asks for or how long it takes. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Go to your account settings and click Remove 2FA (Kagi). Then, in Novaz, open the Kagi entry and tap Remove account.

Official Kagi help

• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
• Account Settings
• Changelog (September 10, 2026: "One login for all of Kagi")
• Log in with QR code
• Email Support
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)