Kanka 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Kanka is the worldbuilding and campaign manager that game masters, players and writers use to keep track of characters, maps, calendars and lore. Its two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional and has a single method: a one-time code from an authenticator app. There's no text-message or email option. Kanka has offered it to subscribers since 2022 and to every account since mid-2023 (Kanka, Kanka). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app follows the same steps.

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

First check how you sign in

Kanka's 2FA is only for accounts that sign in with an email address and a password. If you sign in to Kanka with Google, Twitter or Facebook, Kanka's documentation says to turn on two-step verification with that provider instead (Kanka).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Kanka's documentation describes the setup briefly (Kanka):

1. Sign in to Kanka and open your Account settings.
2. Scroll down to the Two-factor authentication section and start the setup. Kanka shows a QR code.
3. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. The new entry is named Kanka, followed by your email address. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
4. Back in Kanka, type the current code from Novaz in the field under the QR code and save.
5. Kanka signs you out. Sign back in with your password and a fresh code from Novaz to finish.

The documentation doesn't mention a text key, and doesn't say how many digits the codes have or how often they change. Scanning is safer, because the QR code passes those settings to Novaz. If Kanka does show a key and you type it with + > Enter key manually, Novaz will make 6-digit codes every 30 seconds. More on keys in What is a 2FA setup key?

Kanka added a security page to account settings in May 2026, where you can see your active sessions and devices and sign out the others (Kanka). The 2FA documentation still points to Account settings, so if you don't find the section there, look on the security page.

When Kanka asks for a code

Since May 2024, Kanka asks for a code when you sign in, not every few hours as it did at first (Kanka). In May 2026, Kanka cut the idle timeout for sessions from 30 days to 120 hours and changed how long a code you've entered stays valid, to 30 days (Kanka). The notes don't spell out exactly when a device you've already verified will ask again, so keep Novaz handy whenever you sign in.

One thing 2FA doesn't change: if you're a member of a campaign but not an admin, the campaign's admins can still view the campaign as you, and they don't need your code to do it (Kanka).

No backup codes

Kanka's documentation doesn't mention backup or recovery codes, or a second method to fall back on. With Novaz, that matters more than usual if you haven't made a backup (iCloud backup or a backup file): then your phone is the only way to get a code, so read the recovery section below before you need it. For how backup codes work on services that do offer them, see 2FA backup codes.

If Kanka rejects your code

Kanka's help doesn't cover rejected codes. The most common cause is the iPhone's clock: open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Also make sure you're reading the Kanka entry, not another account. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Kanka doesn't describe moving 2FA to a new phone. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore the Kanka entry on the new iPhone and keep using it. Without one, the route that follows from Kanka's documentation is to turn 2FA off in Two-factor authentication while the old phone still works, then turn it on again and scan the new QR code with the new iPhone. In Novaz on the old phone, open the Kanka entry and tap Remove account once you're done. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

Kanka's documentation doesn't describe a recovery process for a lost authenticator. The only route it leaves is the Kanka team itself. Its contact page lists hello@kanka.io for all questions and the Kanka Discord server, which it calls the fastest way to reach the team, with replies usually within 24 to 48 hours (Kanka). Kanka doesn't say what proof it asks for, so write from the email address on your account. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Go back to Account settings, scroll to Two-factor authentication, and turn it off; Kanka asks you to confirm first. Kanka's documentation strongly encourages keeping it on (Kanka).

Official Kanka help

• Two-factor authentication (Kanka documentation)
• Contact
• Version 3.12 – Focus on search and security (Kanka Blog)
• Version 2.4 – Full-text search and webhooks (Kanka Blog)
• 1.43 – Theme builder, PayPal payments, gallery image focus (Kanka Blog)
• 1.34 Two-factor authentication tests and theme fonts on the marketplace (Kanka Blog)