Google kills phone number requirement for 2FA setup

Google is simplifying how users turn on 2-Step Verification (commonly known as 2FA). Google announced a major upgrade that streamlines the process to setup 2FA – ending the requirement of phone number verification.

According to the info, with Google’s update, phone number verification isn’t a mandatory step anymore for setting up 2FA. The update is gradually deploying on both Workspace and Personal Google Account users.

Previously, users had to enable 2SV with a phone number before Authenticator. Following the update, users may add “second step methods” (such as Google Authenticator, or a hardware key) before enabling 2SV.

This is particularly helpful for organizations using Google Authenticator. Users with hardware security keys will have two options to add them to their account on the “Passkeys and security keys” page:

• ‘Use security key”: this registers a FIDO1 credential on the security key even if the key itself is FIDO2 capable.
• ‘Create passkey and follow instructions to “use another device”: this registers a FIDO2 credential on the security key, and will require users to use the key’s PIN for local verification (this creates a passkey on the security key).

If an enrolled 2SV user turns 2SV OFF from their account settings, their enrolled second steps (such as backup codes, Google Authenticator, or second-factor phone) are not automatically removed from their account.

When an administrator turns off 2SV for a user from the Admin console or via the Admin SDK, the second factors will be removed as before, to ensure user off-boarding workflows remain unaffected.

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