Smartly 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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Smartly, at smartly.io, is the ad platform that agencies and brands use to create and publish campaigns on channels such as Meta, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat and Google (Smartly). Your Smartly user account is a work login, so how two-factor authentication (2FA) works depends on how your company signs you in. If you sign in with an email address and password, Smartly recommends multi-factor authentication (MFA) and offers three second steps: a one-time password from an authenticator app, a recovery code, or your device's biometrics (Smartly). Its password policy recommends MFA or SSO (Smartly), but nothing says MFA is required.
This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the Smartly steps come from Smartly's own documentation at docs.smartly.io, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Smartly account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
First, check how you sign in
You sign in to Smartly either with an email and password at app.smartly.io, or with single sign-on (SSO) through your company's identity provider, such as Google, Microsoft or Okta (Smartly).
If you use SSO, Smartly's own MFA doesn't apply to you. Its SSO page says "multi-factor authentication provided by Smartly is not used with SSO" (Smartly). Your second step comes from your company's identity provider, so ask your IT team. The rest of this guide is for email-and-password users.
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
Smartly calls the setting Reset Multi-Factor Authentication, even when you're setting it up for the first time. Smartly documents these steps (Smartly):
- Sign in to Smartly in Google Chrome, the only browser it supports (Smartly).
- In the main navigation, click your profile picture and select My profile.
- Click Account security.
- Click Reset Multi-Factor Authentication. You only see this button if you don't sign in with SSO alone.
- Follow the instructions on screen and choose the one-time password option.
Smartly's help doesn't describe the screens that follow, so it doesn't say whether you get a QR code, a text key, or both. To add either one to Novaz:
- QR code: in Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code. If you're using Smartly on the same iPhone, take a screenshot and use Choose a photo instead. See how to scan a QR code on the same iPhone.
- Text key: tap +, then Enter key manually. Type "Smartly" as the Service, your work email as the Account, and the key as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
If both are offered, scan the QR code: it passes the exact code settings, which Smartly's help doesn't list.
Then type the code Novaz shows into Smartly to finish.
Recovery codes
Smartly lists a recovery code as one of its MFA methods, but doesn't say how many you get or how to make new ones (Smartly). If Smartly shows you recovery codes during setup, save them somewhere other than your phone. Without a Novaz backup, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so those codes are what gets you back in if that iPhone is gone. More in 2FA backup codes.
Signing in with MFA on
After you enter your email and password and click Sign in, Smartly asks for one extra verification step, depending on the method you set up. Once that's done, click Login to go on to the app (Smartly). Smartly's help doesn't mention a way to remember trusted devices.
If you also turned on device biometrics, Smartly ties them to one browser profile. In another Chrome profile, even on the same computer, pick the one-time password or a recovery code instead (Smartly).
If Smartly rejects your code
Smartly gives two fixes, in this order (Smartly):
- Turn on automatic date and time on your phone, then try again. On iPhone, that's Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off.
- If that doesn't help, delete the entry from your authenticator app and add it again. Smartly says you re-add it the next time you sign in, when you choose your MFA option. To delete it in Novaz, open the account and tap Remove account. Do this only if you have another way in, such as a recovery code.
Other causes are covered in Authenticator code not working?
New phone or lost phone
Smartly's advice for a lost or replaced device is to sign in with a different MFA method, such as a recovery code or biometrics, and then set up the one-time password again (Smartly). With Novaz's iCloud backup or a backup file, you can restore Smartly on a new phone with your other accounts. Without one, you add Smartly again from scratch. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you have no other method left and can't reset MFA yourself, Smartly says to contact your Smartly customer success manager (CSM) or Smartly Support (Smartly). Its sign-in help gives the support address as support@smartly.io (Smartly). Smartly doesn't say what proof it asks for or how long a reset takes. More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Smartly's help doesn't describe turning MFA off.
