SimpleLogin 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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SimpleLogin is the email alias service from Proton: it hands out alias addresses and forwards their mail to your real mailbox. Whoever gets into it can send mail as every alias you own. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is optional. SimpleLogin offers two kinds: codes from an authenticator app (it calls this TOTP) and a hardware security key (WebAuthn) (SimpleLogin). This guide covers the authenticator app, using Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the SimpleLogin steps come from SimpleLogin's own documentation and one Proton support article, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a SimpleLogin account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
First: how do you sign in?
You can have a SimpleLogin account in two ways. You can register with an email address and a SimpleLogin password, or you can use Sign up with Proton, which creates the SimpleLogin account from your Proton address (SimpleLogin). An existing SimpleLogin account can also be linked later under Settings > Connect Proton, after which you can sign in to SimpleLogin through your Proton account (Proton).
If you sign in through Proton, the 2FA that guards that sign-in is the one on your Proton account. SimpleLogin's docs don't say whether a code set up in SimpleLogin is also asked for in that case. The steps below are for the 2FA inside SimpleLogin itself, and they need your SimpleLogin account password.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
SimpleLogin's documentation gives these steps (SimpleLogin):
- Sign in to SimpleLogin in a web browser.
- Open Settings, at the top right of the dashboard.
- Go to the security tab. The docs call it Security or Security Settings, so look for either.
- Find Two Factor Authentication and press Setup TOTP. Enter your account password when asked.
- SimpleLogin shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it. If the QR 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'd rather type it, SimpleLogin also gives a secret key. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, type SimpleLogin as the Service, and paste the key into Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Novaz now shows a 6-digit code for SimpleLogin. Type it on the SimpleLogin page to finish. The docs don't name the confirm button.
The docs name Proton Pass and Aegis as example apps, but any app that makes standard 6-digit time-based codes will do.
Save the recovery codes right away
Once 2FA is on, SimpleLogin shows you a set of recovery codes. Each one works a single time, so SimpleLogin suggests keeping note of which ones you've used. It recommends a secure physical drive, or else a password manager, as the place to store them (SimpleLogin).
Take this step seriously if you use Novaz. Without a Novaz backup, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so the recovery codes are your way back in if that phone is gone. More in 2FA backup codes.
If SimpleLogin rejects your code
SimpleLogin's docs don't cover rejected codes. The common cause is the phone's clock. On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. Other causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Moving to a new iPhone
SimpleLogin doesn't describe a phone switch. The documented pieces give you a way: while you still have the old phone and can get a code, turn TOTP off (below), then set it up again and scan the new QR code with the new phone. You'll get new recovery codes when you set it up again, so store those. With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can skip all this and restore your accounts on the new iPhone instead. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Sign in with one of your recovery codes. If you also registered a security key, SimpleLogin's docs don't say whether it can take the place of a code at sign-in.
Without either, SimpleLogin's docs don't describe a recovery process, what proof it would ask for, or how long it takes. The only contact the documentation gives is the support address simplelogin@support.proton.me (SimpleLogin). If you set up 2FA in your Proton account rather than in SimpleLogin, Proton's own recovery steps apply instead. See also Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
The docs describe this flow (SimpleLogin):
- Sign in to SimpleLogin in a browser and go to the Two Factor Authentication section of your settings.
- Click Disable TOTP and enter your account password.
- Click Submit, then Disable TOTP again to confirm.
A security key is removed separately: under Security Key (WebAuthn), click Manage WebAuth, then Unlink next to the key. After you turn TOTP off, open the SimpleLogin entry in Novaz and tap Remove account.
