Logging into your Google Account is about to get a bit more complicated

New details have emerged regarding Google's plan to make two-factor authentication (2FA) mandatory for Google Accounts by the end of this year.

The search giant first announced its plans to make 2FA mandatory to commemorate World Password Day back in May. While using a password generator to create strong and unique passwords and a password manager to store them can help protect your online accounts, having a second form of authentication dramatically decreases an attacker's chances of gaining access to them. 

Google has been innovating in two-step verification (2SV) which is quite similar to 2FA for years now and according to the company, 2SV is the strongest when it “combines something you know” like a password with “something you have” such as your smartphone or a security key.

As part of its efforts to further secure its users' accounts, Google revealed in a blog post last month that it would auto-enroll an additional 150m users in 2SV and require YouTube creators to turn the feature on. Now though, we finally have a date for when the company will make 2SV mandatory for Google accounts.

Automatically activated

According to a new report from HTnovo, text in Google's apps suggests that 2SV will become mandatory for Google Accounts beginning on November 9.

In a new notification sent out to Gmail and Android smartphone users, the search giant provided more details on the upcoming change, saying:

“After entering the password, you will need to complete a second step on the phone. Keep your phone handy when you log in. Two-Step Verification will be activated automatically on November 9th. If you want, you can activate this feature first: your account is ready.”

While Google has given users plenty of time to enroll in its 2SV program, those that haven't will be auto-enrolled early next week. Although it may be a bit more complicated to login into your Google Account going forward, your account and the data it contains will be more secure and better protected from hackers.

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Via MSPoweruser