Google is planning to end support for SMS-based two-factor authentication in Gmail, as Forbes <\/em>reports<\/a>. The company has long offered the option to send a code to users’ personal phones via text message to verify their identity. However, this method has inherent security issues that Google aims to address.<\/p>\n The primary goal is to "reduce the impact of rampant, global SMS abuse," according to Gmail spokesperson Ross Richendrfer, who spoke with Forbes<\/em>. To achieve this, Google will replace SMS-based authentication with QR codes. Instead of entering a phone number and receiving a text with a code, users will be presented with a QR code to scan with their phone. This shift reduces the reliance on the less secure SMS messages, although it still requires the use of a smartphone.<\/p>\n Using SMS two-factor authentication is better than not using any form of two-factor authentication, but it is not as secure as other methods. Criminals can intercept messages by convincing carriers to port a user’s number to a new phone. They can also make money by tricking providers into sending multiple SMS messages to a controlled number through a process known as "traffic pumping." Given the large volume of SMS messages Google sends for verification and spam prevention, it’s clear why SMS poses a problem.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Google and similar companies aim to utilize passkeys<\/a> and move away from passwords entirely. However, adoption is slow<\/a>, and enhancing the security of the current, more familiar process remains important.<\/p>\n\n Google’s Plan to Discontinue SMS-Based Two-Factor Authentication Google is planning to end support for SMS-based two-factor authentication in Gmail, as Forbes reports. The company has long offered the option to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6882,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[2184,143,64,2185,103,63],"class_list":["post-6881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-2fa","tag-cybersecurity","tag-gear","tag-gmail","tag-google","tag-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2025\/02\/4a70d780-f2e0-11ef-bffe-0807b56ddfc9.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6881","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6881"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6881\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6881"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6881"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fusionmindlabs.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6881"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Reason Behind the Change<\/h2>\n
Security Concerns with SMS Authentication<\/h2>\n
The Future of Authentication<\/h2>\n
Source Link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"