Ko-fi 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Your Ko-fi account runs your creator page: tips, memberships, shop sales and commissions, plus the PayPal or Stripe account your supporters' money goes to (Ko-fi, Ko-fi). Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional, but it's one of the first things Ko-fi tells you to do if you think someone has been in your account (Ko-fi).

Ko-fi offers two methods: a code sent to your email, or a code from an authenticator app. The app option comes with a condition: Ko-fi asks for a mobile number as an SMS backup, and the setup doesn't finish without it. Ko-fi doesn't mention backup codes (Ko-fi).

This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Ko-fi steps come from Ko-fi's own help center, including its screenshots, linked below, which we read on October 19, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Ko-fi account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start: the phone number

Have a mobile number ready that can receive texts, not a VoIP number such as Google Voice. If you'd rather not give Ko-fi a phone number at all, Ko-fi suggests using email 2FA instead (Ko-fi).

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

These steps follow Ko-fi's help article and its screenshots (Ko-fi):

1. On ko-fi.com, open your Account Settings (ko-fi.com/account). Ko-fi's 2FA article calls this page Account & Billing, so the label may differ.
2. Under Two-factor authentication, choose Set up.
3. In Choose Two-Factor Authentication Method, select Authentication App, then Next.
4. Ko-fi shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code. If the QR code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
5. If you can't scan it, Ko-fi's help says to copy the secret code into your app. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, fill in Service, and paste the code as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
6. On Confirm your authorization code, type the 6-digit code from Novaz and select Verify.
7. On SMS Backup, pick your country from the list, enter your mobile number, and select Next.
8. On Verify Your SMS Code, type the 6-digit code Ko-fi texted you and select Verify.
9. A Success message confirms 2FA is on. Select OK. The Two-factor authentication section now shows Enabled.

Ko-fi doesn't say how often its codes change, so scanning is safer: the QR code passes the code settings to your app, while a typed key gets the usual 30 seconds.

If step 7 shows an Incorrect format error, Ko-fi's help says to type the number with no spaces, dashes or country code, even though the older screenshot of that screen mentions a country code.

Signing in afterwards

Ko-fi asks for a code from your app each time you log in, on top of your password (Ko-fi, Ko-fi). The screen is Confirm your code: type the code from Novaz and select Log In. Ko-fi's help doesn't mention an option to remember a device.

Ko-fi also asks for a 6-digit code from your 2FA method before it shows or changes Your location in your account settings (Ko-fi).

Your backup is a text message

Ko-fi falls back on your phone number. Below the code field on Confirm your code, a link sends an SMS code to your mobile when you can't reach your app (Ko-fi).

This matters with Novaz, because unless you've turned on iCloud backup or exported a backup file (Settings › Backup), Novaz keeps its keys only on that iPhone. If it also holds the SIM for your backup number, losing it takes away both. See Authenticator app vs. SMS.

If Ko-fi rejects your code

Ko-fi's help has no advice for rejected authenticator codes. Check your iPhone's clock first: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

Ko-fi's help doesn't describe moving the authenticator to a new phone, and its 2FA settings window only shows Disable. So turn 2FA off while the old phone still works, then set it up again on the new one. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead, and your Ko-fi codes keep working. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

The help has no separate setting for a new backup number either. Setting 2FA up again takes you through SMS Backup.

If you lose your authenticator

Use the SMS link on the Confirm your code screen and sign in with the texted code. If you've lost that number too, or the text doesn't arrive, contact Ko-fi Support through its request form. Ko-fi says it will help once it has checked that you're the account owner (Ko-fi). It doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long it takes.

More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

In Account Settings (or Account & Billing), under Two-factor authentication, select the gear icon. In Two-Factor Authentication Settings, select Disable (Ko-fi). Then remove Ko-fi from Novaz: open the account and tap Remove account. If you can't log in to turn it off, Ko-fi says to contact Support.

Official Ko-fi help

• Setting up two-factor authentication (2FA)
• Keeping your Ko-fi account safe
• I think my account has been compromised
• Why Ko-fi asks for your location
• Updating your Ko-fi account email address
• What is Ko-fi?
• Submit a request