Password management is getting better and better with options like passkeys, but a traditional manager is still a great tool. One of our most recommended choices, Bitwarden, has been around for several years. Now, the open-sourced app’s development team has announced a new two-factor authentication app.
Bitwarden Authenticator brings temporary code-based multifactor authentication under a new wrapper that’s free to use for anyone. This option has been available for some time now for paid users of Bitwarden Password Manager, but the team thought it was time to spin up a separate app.
Bitwarden Authenticator will be free via Apple Store or Play Store, and the two-factor option will also remain for paid Password Manager users. But with Authenticator as a separate app you have another line of defense and even added benefit that users have been mentioning, you can not use the Bitwarden Authenticator to set up Password Manager 2FA (two-factor authentication). See, if you had Bitwarden Password Manager also managing your 2FA accounts, you couldn’t have Bitwarden Password Manager using 2FA unless you kept that initial login code in another application.
Now, Bitwarden can close that loop and open its great development team to new users searching for a solid authentication app. A couple of things are worth a note with bullet points below.
- Bitwarden Authenticator is open-sourced to be independently audited just like Password Manager.
- It’s early build that require manually importing each code account individually, but importing is coming in the first month or so.
- Exporting to .json is supported.
- Backups are end-to-end encrypted and currently stored in iCloud or with Google One Backup.
- Integration with existing Bitwarden Password Manager accounts is in the works.
While it’s early, I have entrusted Bitwarden Password Manager with all my online secrets for years and will be moving my authentication needs over as well. Once you have import and exporting options, this should be a complete option for almost any user. Check out the full roadmap from Bitwarden below to see more details.
