Guide · Tick, the free 2FA authenticator

Google Authenticator on your PC or Mac

Google only makes Authenticator for phones. Here’s how to bring every code to your computer in about two minutes, so signing in is type, Enter, paste.

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Is there a Google Authenticator app for PC?

No. Google Authenticator is made for Android and iPhone only, and Google doesn’t offer a way to see your codes on a computer. But you don’t need Google’s app to get the same codes.

Two-factor codes follow an open standard (TOTP, RFC 6238). Each one is worked out from a secret key and the current time, so any authenticator that holds the same secret shows the same code. Move the secrets once and your computer makes the codes itself, offline.

What you need

Move your codes, step by step

  1. Open Tick at tick.metricdeck.app/app and create a master password. It encrypts everything Tick stores.
  2. On your phone, open Google Authenticator, open the menu and choose Transfer accounts, then Export accounts.
  3. Pick the accounts to move and tap Next. Google shows a QR code, or several if you have many accounts.
  4. In Tick, choose Add account, pick Camera and hold the phone up to it. Or take a photo of the QR code and drop it into Tick under Image.
  5. Check it worked. Every account appears in Tick with a code that matches your phone. With several QR codes, scan each in turn.

From now on, type a few letters of an account’s name and press Enter: the code is copied, ready to paste. If it’s about to change, Tick copies the next one so it never runs out mid-paste.

Keep or remove the codes on your phone?

Your choice. Exporting copies the accounts; the codes on your phone and in Tick stay the same. Many people keep both: the computer for every day, the phone as a spare. If you remove them from your phone, download an encrypted backup from Tick’s settings first.

Keeping your codes safe

Tick encrypts your codes with AES-256-GCM under a key that only your master password unlocks, keeps them in your browser alone, and never sends them anywhere. There’s no server and no account, and the code is open source.

The honest trade-off.

Two-factor is strongest when codes live on a different device from your passwords. Codes on your computer are far more convenient, so use a strong master password, and keep each site’s backup codes somewhere safe. There’s no password recovery, by design.

Coming from another app?

Tick also imports Aegis and 2FAS exports and lists of otpauth:// links. Authy doesn’t export, so moving from it takes one more step per account: see the Authy guide.

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FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is there an official Google Authenticator for Windows or Mac?

No. Google makes Google Authenticator for Android and iPhone only. Any TOTP authenticator, such as Tick, makes the same codes from the same secrets, so you can use your accounts on a computer by moving them across.

Can I see my Google Authenticator codes in Chrome?

Not from Google. Google Authenticator’s Google Account backup restores to the app on another phone, not to a browser. To get codes on your computer, export them once and import them into a computer authenticator like Tick.

Does exporting remove the codes from my phone?

No. Exporting copies the accounts. The codes on your phone keep working, and you decide whether to remove them afterwards.

My computer has no camera. Can I still import?

Yes. Take a photo of the transfer QR code with another phone or camera, move the photo to your computer, and drop or paste it into Tick under Image.

Why are my codes wrong after moving?

Almost always a clock that’s off: codes change every 30 seconds, so a clock a minute out makes wrong ones. Tick corrects for a drifting clock automatically, and turning on automatic time in your system settings fixes it for every app.