Hey!
I basically want to replace the Google Authenticator app in style and functionality:
- List all TOTP tokens and their validity time (with a name and order I decide).
- Allow me to periodically or on change back up the whole thing to some off-site storage, keeping the last
Nbackups. - Have a native app for Android or an actually good PWA.
- Don’t do magic bullshit like fetching icons, hide tokens, etc.
- Be actually secure (i.e. don’t roll your own auth)
- Just be a TOTP manager, and nothing more! No, I’m not interested in a password manager, thank you. I also don’t want any other OTP methods I don’t use.
- Don’t be a one-man projects where the availability is not clear in >1 year.
Any experience is welcomed. Thank you!
Aegis + syncthing for remote backups
This. Aegis does all of the points except offsite backups. And for good reason.
The Aegis app has no network permissions at all, which is obviously a massive boost for security and privacy. And besides, off-device backuping is a nightmare.
Syncing the Aegis backups made on change to some other server is better handled by a great dedicated app. Syncthing is the best such program (by far), though for the few files involved here nextcloud would work just as well.
I second Aegis. You can drag icons and rename tokens. You can also sort by a to z, last used, usage count, etc. Aegis supports automatic backups and can export plaintext or encrypted backup files, after which you can transfer them to other devices however you transfer other files from your phone.
The backup files work with Aegis and with several independent desktop apps depending on your OS of choice. While I haven’t looked into it, that suggests that the encryption method isn’t something homebrew.
As far as #6 goes Aegis doesn’t try to save my passwords, encourage me to use passkeys, or suggest AI solutions. Magic bullshit is a vague qualifier, but I think Aegis is thaumaturgically inert. The ‘icons’ are just the first letter of the name of the token issuer by default.
The more-than-one-year lifetime is a problem with anything, including plenty of Google projects. There are over 60 contributors on github, so that’s something.
Print out all the QR codes on a sheet of paper and keep them secure in a fire safe. That’s really the best way to keep them backed up and secure.
until you need to update them, or when you need recovery when travelling
If you need to update them, you just reprint and replace.
If you need to recover on the road, well that depends on your risk tolerance. I’m never away from home so long that it’s a problem, and pretty much every service has a way to bypass 2FA in case of emergency.