Two factor authentication (2FA) is mandatory for all Social Sync accounts.
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If you haven't come across the term before, 2FA provides an extra layer of protection, beyond just a username and password, to ensure the security of online accounts.

Chances are you've already used 2FA before, e.g. when logging into your bank account. Many online accounts will now email you a code to confirm login, while others might send it via SMS.
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An even more secure method however is receiving the code via a synchronised authenticator app installed on your mobile device. This method works by combining something you know (user name and password) and something you have (an authenticator app on your mobile device or computer), and its unlikely an attacker would ever have access to both

There are lots of free 2FA apps available such as Google Authenticator, Okta Verify, Authy which work by generating codes for you to confirm that it’s you each time you log in.

Here's how to link your Social Sync user account to your chosen authenticator and then use it every time you log in.

When a user logs in to Social Sync for the first time they will be prompted to set up 2FA as part of the process.

Here's what this looks like:

All you need to do is open the authenticator app on your phone and scan the QR code on the right side of the page.
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On Google Authenticator, for example, the option to scan a new code is via the + button in the bottom corner. This will open the camera and you simply hold the device up to your screen.
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Once done, the app will be in sync with your Social Sync user account and will provide a code on your device, which refreshes every 60 seconds.

Simply type the 6 digit code from the app into the panel on the left side of the login page to complete the process. You should be redirected to the home dashboard of your Social Sync account.

​What to do with your recovery codes

Log in recovery codes allow you to access your Social Sync account when your 2FA codes are unavailable so you are not locked out.

When you first log in to Social Sync you will be given 8 codes which will be long strings of randomly created characters.

If you are not able to use 2FA, simply enter your username and password as normal and you will be presented with the following screen for your 2FA code.

Click on 'User Recovery Code' at the bottom, enter 1 of your 8 recovery codes and submit to log in to access your account:

Each time you log in, after entering your email and password you'll see this screen:
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Simply open the authenticator app on your mobile device and enter the corresponding 6 digit code before it expires. If it has less than 10 seconds on the timer, you may want to wait for the next one!
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If you ever need to reset your 2FA e.g. because you lost your phone, then get in touch with us and we can confirm account ownership and reset the connection. This will allow you to rescan the QR and sync your new device.

With Google Authenticator its possible that your device can occasionally get out of sync. When that happens, the app won’t work and you might get ‘Invalid code’ error messages whenever you use the codes generated by the app.

On the app’s Android version, there’s a ‘Time correction for codes’ section where you can easily fix the app’s time sync error by tapping the Sync now button.
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However, for iOS you cannot fix time & date sync errors directly in your iPhone’s Google Authenticator app. You will need to ensure that your iPhone’s ‘Date & Time’ settings are configured to update/sync automatically. That way, the Google Authenticator app's time will also be synced.

Here is how to configure automatic time update/sync on iPhone.

Step 1: Launch the iPhone Settings menu and select General.

Step 2: Select ‘Date & Time’.

Step 3: Toggle on Set Automatically.

If the option was enabled already, you can toggle it off and back on. Now check if the Google Authenticator works on your iPhone.