How to Set up IPhone As a Dongle for Google Two-Factor Authentication
iOS: If you’re a good Google user, you’re probably used to getting all sorts of prompts on your device whenever you log into your account (or, in the not-so-good case, someone else tries to log in like you). Android users have been able to use their devices as security keys for a while now, and iPhone users are now finally getting that option too.
What does it mean? Well, instead of just prompting you to confirm that you are actually trying to log in, you need to be physically close to any device that is trying to log in. This means that both your iPhone and the specified device will need to use Bluetooth, since that is the means by which they determine that you are holding your iPhone while authenticating the request and are in front of a device that is trying to log in as you are.
It’s a bit tricky to describe, but it’s an even safer way to authenticate with Google if you’re trying to do it through your Chrome browser. This ultra-secure method won’t work if, say, you add a Google account to Windows so that you can sync your calendar.
First, download the Smart Lock app for iOS. Its configuration is self-explanatory. You will choose your account, allow Bluetooth permissions and allow notifications. Then you log into your Google account, select your iPhone as your security key, and that’s it.
The only problem I noticed with this setting is that my iPhone and Windows computer cannot see each other via Bluetooth, so it doesn’t help much. (You can still authenticate to your account using the alternate method, so all hope is not lost.) The process worked flawlessly on my MacBook, but this was not a big surprise.