YNAB 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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YNAB (short for You Need A Budget) holds your budget plans, your linked bank accounts and your spending history, so the login is worth protecting. YNAB calls its two-factor authentication Two-Step Verification. It's optional, and the only method YNAB documents is a verification app that makes six-digit codes. YNAB doesn't support hardware security keys, though a key used as a code generator through an authenticator app works (YNAB). This guide uses Authenticator App - Novaz on iPhone. Any authenticator app works the same way.
How we checked this guide: the YNAB steps come from YNAB's own help center, linked below, which we read on October 21, 2026. We haven't tested them on a YNAB account, so a label may differ slightly. The Novaz steps are checked against the app, version 1.0.5.
Before you start
Two things happen the moment you turn it on. YNAB signs you out of your other connected devices, and it switches off the Face ID, Touch ID or passcode lock in its mobile app. You can turn that lock back on afterwards (YNAB). On iPhone, that means touching and holding the YNAB icon and choosing Require Face ID (or Touch ID or passcode) again (YNAB).
Turn on 2FA with an authenticator app
YNAB's help describes these steps (YNAB):
- Open YNAB in a web browser and go to your Account Settings. From inside the app, click the name of your plan at the top of the left sidebar, then Account Settings (YNAB).
- Under Login Methods, click Set Up next to Two-Step Verification. A page called Set Up a Verification App opens, with on-screen instructions.
- In Novaz, tap +, then Scan QR code, and point the camera at the code on the screen. 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.
- The same page also has a code you can type instead of scanning. In Novaz, tap +, then Enter key manually, fill in Service (for example, YNAB) and type that code as the Setup key. See What is a 2FA setup key?
- Back in YNAB, enter the six-digit code Novaz shows.
- Save your emergency backup code.
YNAB says its codes are good for 30 seconds, which matches what Novaz makes when you type a key.
Your one emergency backup code
YNAB gives you a single emergency backup code, not a list. It gets you back in when you can't get a code from your app, so store it away from your phone, on paper or in a password manager. YNAB's pages don't say whether the code works more than once or how to make a new one.
If you lose the iPhone and have no Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, this code is how you get back in. More in 2FA backup codes.
Sharing one YNAB login with a partner
YNAB documents something most services don't: two people setting up Two-Step Verification on the same login at the same time (YNAB). Have both phones ready, start the setup as above, and add the account on each phone by scanning the same QR code (or typing the same code). Then enter a code from either app and save the backup code.
If Two-Step Verification is already on and your partner needs it too, YNAB says to turn it off first and set it up again together.
YNAB's alternative is a YNAB Together group, where each person has their own login and sets up Two-Step Verification separately (YNAB).
Signing in
At sign-in, open Novaz, find YNAB and type the six-digit code. YNAB's help doesn't say whether it asks every time or remembers a device. It also doesn't say whether signing in with Google or Apple skips the code (YNAB).
A "verification required" message at sign-in has nothing to do with Two-Step Verification. YNAB says to look for an email from it and follow the instructions there.
If YNAB rejects your code
YNAB's own troubleshooting points to two things (YNAB):
- An expired code. Each code lasts 30 seconds. If the one you copied is older, wait for the next one.
- The wrong entry. If your app has more than one YNAB entry, try each, then remove the one that doesn't work. In Novaz, open it and tap Remove account.
If the codes still fail, check the iPhone's clock: Settings > General > Date & Time > Set Automatically. Novaz warns you when the clock is 15 seconds or more off. More causes are in Authenticator code not working?
Changing phones
YNAB's help doesn't cover new phones. If you have a Novaz iCloud backup or backup file, restore your accounts on the new iPhone and the YNAB codes keep working. Without one, turn Two-Step Verification off while you still have the old phone, and set it up again with the new one. See How to transfer your authenticator app to a new iPhone.
If you lose your authenticator
Use your emergency backup code. If you share the login, a code from your partner's app works too. Without either, YNAB Support can help you back in. You reach them by email at help@ynab.com, or through the in-app chat, where you tell the chatbot you want a human. YNAB says it usually replies within one day, Monday through Friday, in English (YNAB). Its pages don't say what proof of ownership it asks for.
More in Lost the phone with your authenticator app?
Turning 2FA off
In Account Settings, click Turn Off next to Two-Step Verification, enter a code from your app and click Disable (YNAB). Then remove YNAB from Novaz.
