Twitch 2FA: how to set up an authenticator app

Your Twitch account is the one you watch, chat and stream with. Its two-factor authentication (2FA) runs in an unusual order: you confirm a mobile number by text message first, and only then can you add an authenticator app. In Twitch's words, "SMS verification is required first" (Twitch). Twitch's 2FA also runs on Authy behind the scenes, which matters if you lose your phone (Twitch). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.

How we checked this guide: the Twitch steps come from Twitch's own help center and developer documentation, linked below, including the setup article's screenshots. We read them on October 20, 2026. We haven't tested them on a Twitch account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.

Who has to turn it on

• Affiliates and Partners: 2FA is required to begin Affiliate onboarding (Twitch) and to change your payout method (Twitch).
• Developers: you need it to register an app in the Twitch Developer Console (Twitch).
• Everyone else: it's optional. Twitch recommends an authenticator app over text messages, since apps work without signal (Twitch). See Authenticator app vs SMS.

Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app

Before you start, verify your email address on Twitch, and have a mobile number that gets texts, not a landline or an internet number such as Google Voice (Twitch). Use a web browser, since Twitch says 2FA set up in its mobile app uses text messages. Turning 2FA on signs you out everywhere except the device you're using (Twitch).

The steps, from Twitch's setup article and its screenshots (Twitch):

1. Go to your Security and Privacy settings at twitch.tv/settings/security.
2. Select Set Up Two-Factor Authentication, then Enable 2FA.
3. Enter your mobile number and select Continue.
4. Enter the 7-digit code Twitch texts you and select Continue.
5. A Two-Factor Authentication screen opens. Under Step 2: Scan the QR code, Twitch shows a QR code. In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at it.
6. Under Step 3: Verify your code, type the 6-digit code from Novaz and select Submit.

Twitch shows only a QR code, no text key. If Twitch is open on the same iPhone as Novaz, take a screenshot, then in Novaz tap +, then Choose a photo, and delete the screenshot afterwards. See scanning a QR code on the same iPhone. Skip (Use SMS as authenticator) on that screen leaves you with text codes only.

With both text messages and the app set up, you also get six exclusive emotes in the Unlocked section of the emote picker.

Backup codes and fallbacks

Twitch's help mentions backup codes saved during setup (Twitch), but doesn't say where they appear or how to get new ones. If you see any, store them away from your phone.

Twitch suggests an authenticator app that backs up, or scanning the QR code with more than one app or device (Twitch). Novaz can back up too, with iCloud backup (PRO) or a password-protected backup file (free) in Settings › Backup. Without one, its keys exist only on your iPhone, so your text-message number is your main fallback. Keep it current.

When Twitch asks for a code

Twitch asks for a code when you log in (Twitch). Its pages don't say whether it remembers devices. Accounts without 2FA get an email code on new devices instead (Twitch). A code request you didn't trigger means someone probably has your password: change it and leave 2FA on (Twitch).

If Twitch rejects your code

Twitch's tips: codes last 30 seconds, so type the newest one; set your phone's time to automatic; leave out spaces; after too many attempts, wait 24 hours (Twitch). On iPhone, open Settings > General > Date & Time and turn on Set Automatically. Novaz also warns you when your clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?

Changing phones

If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore it on the new iPhone and Twitch keeps working. Without one, set Twitch up again on the new phone while the old one still works. In Security and Privacy, select Edit Two-Factor Authentication, then Modify. Select Continue, enter your password, then scan the new QR code and submit the code (Twitch).

New number too? Select Modify next to Text Message (Backup) in the same place (Twitch). See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.

If you lose your authenticator

1. Use a backup code, if you saved them.
2. Get a code by text. Since text messages are set up first, Twitch says every 2FA account can fall back to them (Twitch). Then set up the app again with Modify.
3. Lost the number too? Fill out Authy's Phone Change Form with your old and new numbers, even if you never used the Authy app. Authy, run by Twilio, checks your identity. It takes 24-48 business hours, and Twitch Support can't speed it up (Twitch). Twitch doesn't say what proof Authy asks for.
4. If nothing works, contact Twitch Support (Twitch).

More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?

Turning 2FA off

To drop the app but keep text codes, start the Modify steps and choose the option to skip and use SMS (Twitch). Then open Twitch in Novaz and tap Remove account. Turning 2FA off completely is possible in your security settings, but Twitch advises against it and doesn't list the steps (Twitch). Either way the 2FA emotes go.

Official Twitch help

• Setting up Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
• How to Change Your 2FA Phone Number on Twitch
• Not Receiving Verification Codes
• Twitch Account Access/Login Issues Guide
• New Device and Location Verification
• What can I do if someone else accessed my account?
• Joining the Affiliate Program
• Payout Details FAQ
• Register Your App (Twitch Developers)