Bitwarden just launched a new authenticator app. Here’s what it means to users. | Bitwarden Blog
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Storing 2FA codes is just the beginning. Bitwarden aims to add defense in depth to authentication.

Bitwarden Authenticator is a standalone app that is available for everyone, even non-Bitwarden customers.

In its current release, Bitwarden Authenticator generates time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) for users who want to add an extra layer of 2FA security to their logins.

There is a comprehensive roadmap planned with additional functionality.

Available for iOS and Android

  • @[email protected]English
    19•2 months ago

    Correct me if I am wrong, but the Bitwarden client itself already does this. I store several of my TOTP’s in my self hosted Vaultwarden/Bitwarden install.

    • @brrtEnglish
      8•2 months ago

      And where would you store your Bitwarden login TOTP if you used their service instead of self hosting?

      • @sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
        1•2 months ago

        And what happens if your Bitwarden account gets compromised? Now you’ve lost both factors at the same time.

        No, I’ll keep my 2FA separate from my password manager, thank you very much.

        • SuperFolaEnglish
          3•2 months ago

          Good luck getting your vault compromised.

          Unless you have a weak password or the vault isn’t encrypted (which it is, AES256 iirc and you might be able to change that on a self hosted version), I don’t see that happening.

          • @sugar_in_your_teaEnglish
            2•2 months ago

            Most password manager hacks don’t attack the encryption or password themselves (my password is very long), they find/create a side channel. For example:

            • keylogger attack to grab password manager password
            • social engineering to reset a password
            • attack the server to intercept passwords

            Every secure system can be defeated, but it’s a lot less likely that two secure systems will be defeated at the same time. So I keep my passwords and second factors separate. It’s unlikely that either will be compromised, and incredibly unlikely that both will be compromised at the same time.

    • @[email protected]English
      0•2 months ago

      You’re right, it does. This is a head-scratcher.

      I guess they already had the TOTP code written, so creating a standalone app was trivial, but what’s the point?

      • @[email protected]English
        32•2 months ago

        Security-wise it’s not a good idea to keep passwords and 2FA codes in the same client as it then becomes a single point of failure. A standalone authenticator app resolves that as long as it’s not unlocked with the same master password. A standalone app also opens a venue for non-BW customers to get on their platform.

        • @[email protected]English
          2•2 months ago

          It’s not a good idea to keep both on the same device, but i wouldn’t use it at all if it was a struggle

        • @[email protected]English
          2•2 months ago

          Would it count if the application is the same but all the TOTP is handled by a different database with a different passphrase?

      • @[email protected]English
        9•2 months ago

        TOTP in the Bitwarden Vault is a paid feature. The standalone app is free, and doesn’t even require a Bitwarden account.

        This allows free tier users a way to use TOTP without upgrading, and without needing to trust Google Authenticator or something else.

      • SuperFolaEnglish
        2•2 months ago

        Because you can enable totp on your Bitwarden account and it would be dumb to store the password and totp for your biwarden vault in your vault?

        Also it can act as a stepping stone for non Bitwarden customers, before getting their own vault.