Pluralsight 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Your Pluralsight account holds your courses, paths, Skill IQ results and labs, whether you pay yourself or learn on a team plan. Pluralsight calls its two-factor authentication "multi-factor authentication" (MFA), and it has one method: a code from an authenticator app, asked for after your password. Its help doesn't mention text-message codes. MFA is optional, and each person turns it on for their own account. A plan admin can't require it for the team (Pluralsight).
This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way, and Pluralsight says any widely used one is compatible.
How we checked this guide: the Pluralsight steps come from Pluralsight's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The help center's web pages block automated requests, so we read the articles through the help center's own public article feed and compared the MFA article with an archived copy on web.archive.org from February 2026. Both match the version Pluralsight dates December 10, 2025. We haven't tested the steps on a Pluralsight account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Check that MFA is available to you
Pluralsight's MFA article lists three cases where you can't turn it on (Pluralsight):
- your plan signs you in with single sign-on (SSO), for example through your company's app catalog;
- your plan reaches Pluralsight through an LTI integration, such as a learning management system;
- you're a customer who moved over from A Cloud Guru.
If one of these applies, you won't be able to turn on Pluralsight's MFA. For SSO plans, sign-in security is up to your organization.
Turn on MFA with an authenticator app
On the website (Pluralsight):
- Sign in at app.pluralsight.com/id.
- Click your avatar in the navigation menu, then Account settings.
- Under Multi-Factor Authentication, click Enable. A popup opens with the QR code and instructions.
- Enter your password, then click Next.
- In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code on your computer screen.
- If you can't scan it, Pluralsight also shows what it calls an alphanumeric authentication code. That's the setup key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type a name such as Pluralsight in Service, and paste or type the key in Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the six-digit code from Novaz into the text box and click Enable multi-factor authentication.
- Click Done. Account settings now shows MFA as enabled.
You can also do it from the Pluralsight mobile app: tap Account, then Account Settings in the Settings section, scroll to Multi-Factor Authentication and tap Enable. The app version of the steps has you copy the alphanumeric code rather than scan anything. If Pluralsight's mobile app is on the same iPhone as Novaz, copy that code, switch to Novaz, and use Enter key manually. Then copy the six-digit code back into Pluralsight.
No backup codes
Pluralsight's MFA article doesn't mention backup or recovery codes, and none of its other help pages we found offer a second method. That matters if you have no Novaz backup, since the key then exists only on your iPhone. So save the alphanumeric key from step 6 somewhere private, such as a password manager, when you set MFA up. With it you can add Pluralsight to an authenticator again later. This is your own precaution, not a Pluralsight feature.
Signing in with MFA
After your email address and password, Pluralsight asks for a code from your authenticator app. Type it and click Verify (Pluralsight, Pluralsight).
Expect to do this often. Pluralsight signs you out after 3 hours of inactivity, even with MFA on, and a device you've listed or remembered in your account settings doesn't skip it. After the timeout you need your password and a new code. Pluralsight's May 2024 release notes say MFA works in nearly all of its apps, Apple TV excepted (Pluralsight).
If Pluralsight rejects your code
Pluralsight'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. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
New phone or turning MFA off
Pluralsight documents no way to move MFA to another phone. What it does document is turning it off: in Account settings, under Multi-Factor Authentication, click Disable, enter your password and click Next (Pluralsight). You can turn it back on at any time. So before you give up your old iPhone, sign in, disable MFA, and enable it again with the new phone. If you back up Novaz with iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Pluralsight's help pages don't explain how to get back into an account when you've lost the authenticator, what proof it asks for, or how long it takes. If you have a Novaz backup, restore it on the new iPhone. If you saved the setup key, add it to Novaz on your new phone and sign in. If you have neither, your route is Pluralsight Support, through the contact form linked from its help center (Pluralsight). See Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
