Skip to content
Novaz AuthenticatorGET

MyHeritage 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
  1. Before you start: add a phone number
  2. Turn on 2FA on the website
  3. Or turn it on in the MyHeritage app
  4. Signing in afterwards
  5. If MyHeritage rejects your code
  6. Switching to email, or to a new phone
  7. If you lose your authenticator
  8. Turning 2FA off
  9. Official MyHeritage help

Your MyHeritage account holds your family trees, record searches and any DNA results. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional for most people, but required once a DNA kit is linked to your account, including DNA data uploaded from another company (MyHeritage). It's also needed to download raw DNA data or assign a kit to someone else (MyHeritage).

You pick one method: codes from an authenticator app, or codes sent by email. Some older MyHeritage pages still mention text messages, but the current setup offers only those two. This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the MyHeritage steps come from MyHeritage's own help center, Knowledge Base and blog, linked below, which we read on October 20, 2026. The help center blocks automated access, so we read its 2FA articles in archived copies on web.archive.org, saved in August and September 2026. We haven't tested the steps on a MyHeritage account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Before you start: add a phone number

MyHeritage's 2FA help never mentions backup codes. Instead, it suggests adding your phone number to your family tree profile first, because account recovery uses that number to check it's you if you lose the authenticator (MyHeritage). Without a number on file, recovery falls back to verification questions.

Turn on 2FA on the website

These are MyHeritage's newest desktop steps, updated in August 2026 (MyHeritage):

  1. Sign in, click your name at the top right, and choose Account settings.
  2. Scroll to the Two-Factor Authentication section and click Enable Two-Factor Authentication.
  3. Choose Authenticator App, then Continue.
  4. MyHeritage shows a QR code and a 16-digit setup code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen.
  5. To type the key instead, tap +, then Enter key manually. Put "MyHeritage" in Service, your email in Account if you like, and the setup code in Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
  6. Type the 6-digit code from Novaz into MyHeritage and click Continue.

MyHeritage's codes are 6 digits and change about every 30 seconds (MyHeritage), which matches what Novaz uses for a typed key. Setting up in Safari on the same iPhone? Screenshot the QR code and use Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.

MyHeritage then emails you to confirm that 2FA is on (MyHeritage).

Or turn it on in the MyHeritage app

MyHeritage's app instructions mention no QR code. Instead, the app gives you the setup code to copy, which suits an authenticator on the same phone (MyHeritage):

  1. Tap the menu icon at the top left, then My Account, then Two-Factor Authentication.
  2. Select Authenticator app, then tap Copy code.
  3. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, and paste the code into Setup key.
  4. Go back to MyHeritage, enter the 6-digit code from Novaz, and tap Done or Continue.

An older Knowledge Base article uses Settings > Account instead, so labels may differ.

Signing in afterwards

The code isn't needed on every sign-in: MyHeritage asks on a new device and again from time to time (MyHeritage). Check Trust this device when you sign in to skip codes on that device for 30 days (MyHeritage). Signing in with Apple or Google doesn't skip the step: you still type the code afterwards (MyHeritage).

If MyHeritage rejects your code

MyHeritage's advice is to type the code promptly, since it changes about every 30 seconds, and to pick the entry named after MyHeritage and your email if you have several (MyHeritage). If fresh codes still fail, check your iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. If the clock drifts by 15 seconds or more, Novaz flags it. More fixes are in Authenticator code not working?

Switching to email, or to a new phone

You can't have both methods at once. To switch between the app and email, MyHeritage says to disable 2FA, then enable it again with the other method (MyHeritage). Its help doesn't cover moving the authenticator to a new phone, but the same two steps work: while the old phone still gives codes, disable 2FA, then enable it again on the new phone. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can skip that and restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. Without one, each key stays on the iPhone where you added it. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

MyHeritage's help doesn't say whether an account with a DNA kit can switch 2FA off, even briefly.

If you lose your authenticator

Without backup codes to fall back on, you go through MyHeritage's account recovery (MyHeritage):

  • Sign out first, then open the account recovery page.
  • If a phone number is on your account, MyHeritage texts it a code to confirm it's you.
  • Without a phone number, you answer verification questions instead.
  • If the recovery tool can't confirm you, your case goes to MyHeritage Support (MyHeritage).

MyHeritage doesn't say what the questions cover or how long Support takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

Sign in, open Account settings, and click Disable next to your 2FA method. Enter your current password, click Continue, then Yes, disable (MyHeritage). Then remove MyHeritage from Novaz: open it and tap Remove account.

Official MyHeritage help

More guides: Health