26
Debate: Is 2FA worth the headache for personal accounts? Here's my story
I spent 3 hours last week locked out of my email because my phone died and I couldn't get the 2FA code. I had to drive to my brother's place to borrow his phone and it took another hour to get back in. On one hand, that extra layer saved me from a phishing attempt 6 months ago when someone tried to log in from Nigeria. On the other hand, that 3 hour nightmare made me question if it's all worth it for just my personal stuff. Business accounts I get, but for a personal Gmail? Has anyone else had a similar situation where 2FA backfired on them at the worst possible time?
2 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In2 Comments
king.wyatt9d ago
Laughing but also crying reading this because honestly I went through almost the exact same thing last year when my phone took a swim in a lake. Had to spend a whole afternoon at the Verizon store begging them to let me into my own accounts. But here's the thing, that same 2FA notification popped up on my wife's phone while I was locked out and it said someone in Russia was trying to reset my password. So yeah, the backup codes I printed out and shoved in a drawer somewhere are probably still there collecting dust. Honestly feels like we're all just one dead battery away from either losing our accounts or losing our minds. Ngl though, I still keep 2FA on everything because getting hacked would be way more of a headache than borrowing a phone.
7