Privacy 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app for Privacy.com
By the Novaz team · Updated October 29, 2026
Novaz steps checked against version 1.0.5
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Privacy (at privacy.com) gives you virtual payment cards, each with its own card number, that charge the bank account you've connected as you spend (Privacy). Because the account can spend your money, it pays to lock it down. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is already on for every Privacy account. New accounts use email codes by default, and you can switch to text messages or an authenticator app (Privacy). Privacy's own advice is to use the app: "App-based 2FA is more secure than email or SMS 2FA" (Privacy).
This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone, but any authenticator app that makes time-based (TOTP) codes works the same way. If you're weighing the methods, see authenticator app vs. SMS.
How we checked this guide: the Privacy steps come from Privacy's own help center articles, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. The article pages refused a plain automated request, so we read the same articles through the help center's public article feed on support.privacy.com. We haven't tested them on a Privacy account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Use a browser, not the Privacy app
The setting can only be changed on the Privacy website, in a computer or phone browser. Privacy's help says the Privacy mobile app can't update your 2FA settings (Privacy). On an iPhone, sign in at privacy.com in Safari.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Privacy's help describes these steps (Privacy, Privacy):
- Sign in to privacy.com in a web browser.
- At the top right, select your profile information, then choose Account from the menu.
- Find Two-Factor Authentication and choose Authentication App.
- Privacy shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the code is on the same iPhone, take a screenshot, tap +, then Choose a photo. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
- If you can't scan it, Privacy also gives you what it calls a 16-digit key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type a name such as Privacy under Service, and type the key under Setup key, exactly as shown. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Type the one-time code from Novaz into Privacy to confirm.
Privacy's help doesn't say how many digits its codes have or how often they change. Scanning the QR code is the safer choice, because it passes those settings to the app. A key typed by hand gets 6-digit codes every 30 seconds.
Privacy's newer article on passkeys places security options under Security on the Account page (Privacy), so you may find Two-Factor Authentication in that section.
Passkeys are a separate option
Privacy also lets you add a passkey and sign in with Log in with Passkey. Its help says your password keeps working after you add one, and both options appear at each sign-in (Privacy). The passkey article doesn't say whether a passkey sign-in also asks for your authenticator code.
When Privacy asks for a code
Privacy's help talks about codes mainly when you sign in on a new device: that's when the New Device Login email arrives for email 2FA (Privacy). It doesn't say exactly when it asks for an authenticator code once you've switched, so keep Novaz at hand whenever you sign in somewhere new.
No backup codes in the help center
None of Privacy's help articles mention backup or recovery codes, and they don't describe a way to move the authenticator to another phone yourself. With Novaz, that matters if you have no backup: without iCloud backup or a backup file, its keys exist only on your iPhone. Keep the email address on your account working and secure, since Privacy's help points out that anyone who can read that inbox may be able to get into your Privacy account (Privacy).
If Privacy rejects your code
Privacy's help has no advice for rejected authenticator 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. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
Privacy doesn't document a phone-change process. The 2FA setting lives on the Account page (Privacy), so make any change there while the old phone still gives you codes. With a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, you restore Privacy on the new iPhone; without one, you'll add it again there. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Privacy doesn't publish a recovery process for a lost authenticator app, and doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long it takes. Its help sends account security questions to support@privacy.com or to its support request form (Privacy). Write from the email address on your account. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
You can't turn 2FA off completely: every Privacy account has it. Privacy's help says you adjust the method from the Account page in a browser (Privacy), but it doesn't describe moving from the app back to email or SMS, or what that screen shows. After you switch, remove the old entry in Novaz: open it and tap Remove account.
