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Welcome to Private Authenticator

What are these codes?

Many websites and apps now ask for two things when you sign in: your password, and a short code that changes every 30 seconds. The code proves that you have your phone with you, so someone who has only guessed or stolen your password still can't get in. This is called two-step verification (you may also see "two-factor", "2FA" or "MFA").

Private Authenticator is the app that makes those codes. When you turn on two-step verification for a website, the site shows you a square barcode called a QR code. You scan it once with Private Authenticator, and from then on the app can make the right code for that site, forever, without any internet connection. It works because the QR code contains a secret setup key that only you and the website know, and the code is worked out from that key and the current time.

[Screenshot: the code screen showing a six-digit code above the three pebbles and the orange Done button]

Why Private Authenticator?

There are several apps that make these codes. Private Authenticator is built around one idea: your codes are yours, and nobody else's.

  • Nothing leaves your iPhone unless you choose it. There is no account to create, no server that holds your keys, no adverts and no tracking. The only two things the app ever opens on the internet are the Pebble IT website and this documentation, when you tap their links.
  • Face ID or Touch ID protects every code. Every time you open an account to see its code, the app asks Face ID or Touch ID first. Someone holding your unlocked phone still can't read your codes.
  • You decide about syncing. The first time you open the app, it asks whether your accounts should also appear on your other iPhones through Apple's iCloud Keychain, or stay on this iPhone only. Either way, Pebble IT never sees them.
  • Backups you control. The app can turn all your accounts into encrypted backup images that you keep in Photos or Files, locked with a recovery key that only you have.
  • It works with what you already use. Bring accounts across from Google Authenticator, Aegis and other apps, add Steam Guard accounts, and use the free Apple Watch app to read codes from your wrist.
  • Free, with no catch. Private Authenticator is a free app from Pebble IT Solutions in Australia.

What you need

  • An iPhone running iOS 17 or later. (Private Authenticator is made for iPhone. It is not designed for iPad yet.)
  • Face ID or Touch ID set up on the phone. The app refuses to show a code without it, on purpose.
  • Optionally, an Apple Watch with watchOS 10 or later, for the Watch app.

Two names, one app

The app is called Private Authenticator. On your Home Screen its icon says PrivAuth, because the full name is too long to fit. This site uses both names.

How this guide works

The Getting Started book takes you from installing the app to signing in somewhere with a code, one short page at a time. After that, the Everyday Use book explains each screen, and Backups & Moving shows how to keep your accounts safe and move them between apps and phones.

Continue to Installing the App.