SendSafely 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

SendSafely is an encrypted file transfer service that companies use to send and receive sensitive files, often through tools like Zendesk or Outlook. SendSafely says it mandates two-factor authentication (2FA) for registered customer accounts, and the setting that requires it is on by default for new company portals (SendSafely). The catch is the order: you can't start with an authenticator app. You first turn on two-step login by text message, and only then can you add an app. Your phone number stays on the account as the backup (SendSafely).

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

How we checked this guide: the SendSafely steps come from SendSafely's own help center and blog, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We read the help articles through the help center's public article feed on SendSafely's Zendesk site. We haven't tested them on a SendSafely account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Check how you sign in first

These steps only apply if you sign in to SendSafely with a SendSafely username and password. If your company signs you in with single sign-on (SSO) or with Login using your Google account, SendSafely doesn't use its own two-step login for you. Your second factor comes from your company's sign-in or your Google account instead (SendSafely, SendSafely).

Step 1: Turn on two-step login by text message

You may have done this at registration, on the Account Registration screen. If not (SendSafely):

1. Sign in to the SendSafely web portal and click the circle with your initials, top right.
2. Click Edit Profile, then Login Options.
3. Check Yes next to Enable Two-Step Authentication?.
4. Enter your mobile number, choose your country, and click Save. SendSafely texts a code to confirm the number (SendSafely).

Step 2: Add the authenticator app

SendSafely's help names Google Authenticator, Duo Mobile, Authy and Windows Phone Authenticator, but any app that scans the QR code should work. It suggests installing the app on the phone that has the mobile number you just confirmed (SendSafely).

1. Still on Edit Profile > Login Options, click Set up Authenticator App.
2. SendSafely shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the screen. If you're on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone.
3. Enter the code Novaz shows and your SendSafely password.
4. Click Complete Setup.

SendSafely's pages don't mention a text key to type in place of the QR code, and they don't say how long the codes are or how often they change. Scanning is the way to go: the QR code carries those settings to Novaz. If SendSafely does show you a key, Novaz can take it under + > Enter key manually, as the Setup key (What is a 2FA setup key?).

When SendSafely asks for a code

Once the app is set up, you need a code every time you log in, according to SendSafely's 2FA article (SendSafely). Its older new-user guide, written about the text-message codes, says a code arrives when you sign in from a new device (SendSafely).

The Trust This Browser prompt after sign-in is unrelated: it creates an encryption key for your files on that browser, not a sign-in code (SendSafely).

If SendSafely rejects your code

SendSafely's help doesn't cover rejected authenticator codes. Most of the time the iPhone's clock is off. Go to 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?

No backup codes, but a text-message fallback

SendSafely's pages don't mention backup or recovery codes. The fallback is your phone number: if you can't get to your authenticator app at sign-in, you can choose to have the code sent by text message instead (SendSafely). Unless you back up Novaz, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so keep that mobile number current.

SendSafely itself calls text-message codes less secure than an app (SendSafely). The tradeoff is covered in Authenticator app vs. SMS.

If you lose your authenticator

1. At sign-in, pick the option to get the code by text message.
2. If you've lost the phone number too, contact SendSafely at support@sendsafely.com. Its password reset article points there when you can't get back in yourself (SendSafely). If your company runs the SendSafely portal, its administrators manage two-step login for users from the Enterprise Console, so ask them too (SendSafely).

SendSafely doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long recovery takes. See Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Changing phones

SendSafely doesn't describe moving the authenticator to a new phone, or removing it. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore your accounts on the new iPhone (How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone). Without one, ask SendSafely support how to switch before you give up the old iPhone, then add SendSafely to Novaz on the new one. Until then, the text-message fallback can get you in.

Official SendSafely help

• Two-Factor Authentication
• Enforcing Two Step Authentication
• Authenticator App Support for Two Step Authentication (SendSafely blog)
• New User Setup Guide
• Resetting your Password
• Best Practices for Using Trusted Browsers