Google
UX lead, product renewal across Android and iOS

Google Authenticator

Bringing account sync to Google Authenticator meant changing a product people already relied on. I helped secure support for the work and led shared journeys across Android and iOS.

The central choice was whether to save codes to a Google Account or keep them on the device. Backup could make changing phones easier without making an account a requirement for everyone.

Authenticator onboarding screens introducing verification codes, camera setup, and cloud synchronization.
Onboarding explorations introduce verification codes, camera setup, and cloud sync in separate steps. Backup is part of the product's explanation, not a replacement for its core task.

The case for renewal

Useful beyond one account's recovery problem

The work had stalled in part because sync did not solve recovery for someone with only one device. On a new phone, they might need a code to enter the very Google Account holding the backup.

I argued that this limitation did not erase Authenticator's value for third-party accounts. If we were keeping the product, we needed to maintain it. Securing support let us prioritize the renewal and bring product, engineering, research, content, and visual design into the work.

Cross-platform review

Keep the everyday tasks recognizable

People still needed to add a code, find it, and use it to sign in. I audited the Android and iOS journeys to align the decisions and explanations around those tasks, including account backup, while retaining platform conventions.

The add-code control below keeps QR scanning and manual key entry together. When a camera scan is not available, entering the setup key completes the same task. Adding sync did not remove either route.

Authenticator code-list designs and an expanded add-code menu offering QR scanning or setup-key entry
Two inputs, one task. The expanded add menu offers “Scan a QR code” and “Enter a setup key.” The code list remains visible behind the action, preserving context.

Continuity and choice

Make backup an option, not a condition of use

Some people valued keeping codes only on their device. I made account sync the primary setup path while preserving “Use Authenticator without an account.” The choice appears in onboarding and remains available in the account menu.

For existing users, the update introduced prompts to begin saving codes to a Google Account. After opting in, signing into that account in Authenticator on another device brings the saved codes across. Device-only users can instead export codes from the old device and import them on the new one. Each route preserves continuity differently; neither removes every recovery dependency.

Continuity decision

A setup choice that matters when devices change

Make synchronization the primary path, keep device-only use available, and account for what each means later.

Where will the codes live?
The design had to account for a future device change at the moment of setup · Google's guidance on synchronization and transfers
Authenticator welcome and account-menu screens both offer use without a Google Account.
A choice people can revisit. “Use Authenticator without an account” appears below the primary onboarding action; “Use without an account” is also available in the account menu.

Team delivery

Share the decisions, not just the styling

I led the onboarding and visual-identity renewal with shared Material 3 components. Across Android and iOS, the important consistency was what people were choosing: where codes would live, how to add them, and how to continue without an account. The visual renewal supported that common product direction.

The earlier Authenticator icon alongside the renewed multicolor identity.
A renewed visual identity formed part of the wider product overhaul

What changed

Codes could outlast the phone that held them

Google's April 2023 announcement launched account synchronization on Android and iOS, addressing longstanding feedback about lost or stolen devices. People who enabled it gained a backup path; those who preferred device-only use could keep it.

My contribution was the product case and design across those journeys. The launch was the team's delivery, with the choice and transfer behavior documented in Google's user guidance.

Public record

Explore the work

Google Security Blog · April 24, 2023Google Account synchronization comes to AuthenticatorThe public announcement of account sync, one milestone in the wider renewal Google Account HelpSynchronization, device-only use, and code transfersGoogle's current guidance on the available options and their dependencies
Continue exploringGoogle account access: the wider product system