The Simple Truth About Steam's 2FA App

For most people, the Steam app doesn't offer any real value when it comes to buying games on-the-go and using its chat function. Despite the restrictions, I will continue to boycott the app. On the other hand, Authy provides advanced security capabilities along with a multi-device platform that is unmatched.

Authy and Google Authenticator are leading tools that offer the ability to secure data via two-factor authentication. However, what I do have a problem with is installing a separate app for one single service, just because Valve feels like their in-house 2FA is better than RFC 6238, which I highly doubt it is.

The Authy app now allows users to view the Recovery Code after registering the app. I happen to use Authy because I like its user interface. Furthermore, it appears that the last five characters of the key are replaced with 'Q', which does not match what I inputted. Additionally, it seems that the key is case-sensitive, and after entering, all the characters are mapped to upper-case.

All three apps - Authy, Google Authenticator, and Steam's own 2FA app - use standard token generation algorithms and integrate with any compliant app. However, I got stuck while trying to add the shared secret to Strongbox as documented in your link.

I'm fine with using an app on my phone for two-factor authentication; that's what I do with every other service that offers it, including Google, Twitter, Dropbox, Facebook, GitHub, Dreamhost, Microsoft, Tumblr, and Humble Bundle. While these are both interesting topics, they are completely off-topic.

In conclusion, the Steam 2FA app is not a necessary addition to the platform, and users can achieve better security with Authy or other authenticators.

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