European Alternatives to Authy
Looking for an alternative to Authy for two-factor authentication? Authy is owned by Twilio (a US company), requires a phone number to use, and stores your 2FA secrets in their cloud. For privacy-conscious users, open-source alternatives offer better control over your authentication data.
We've curated the best privacy-focused 2FA apps, many of which are open source and store your data locally. These alternatives give you full control over your authentication tokens without relying on US cloud services.
Why Choose an Alternative to Authy?
Open Source
Audit the code yourself - know exactly how your 2FA secrets are handled.
Local Storage
Your 2FA tokens stay on your device, not in someone else's cloud.
Easy Export
Export and backup your tokens anytime - no vendor lock-in.
No Phone Required
No phone number or personal information needed to get started.
Best Alternatives to Authy
We've curated the best open-source and privacy-focused 2FA apps. Each alternative has been evaluated for security, usability, and privacy features.
Aegis Authenticator
Free, open-source 2FA app for Android with encrypted local storage
Bitwarden Authenticator
2FA app from the open-source password manager with EU hosting option
Proton Pass
Swiss password manager with built-in 2FA support and encryption
Feature Comparison: Authy vs Alternatives
| Feature | Authy | Aegis | Bitwarden Auth | Proton Pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Source | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cloud Sync | Required | Optional | Optional | E2E Encrypted |
| Phone Required | Yes | No | No | No |
| Easy Export | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| iOS Support | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop App | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing | Free | Free | Free | Free tier |
Frequently Asked Questions
For Android users, Aegis Authenticator is widely considered the best open-source alternative to Authy. It offers encrypted local storage, biometric unlock, and supports importing from Authy. For iOS users, Bitwarden Authenticator or FreeOTP are excellent open-source options.
Authy intentionally makes it difficult to export your tokens to lock you into their ecosystem. However, there are community-developed tools that can help extract tokens from the Authy desktop app. Aegis can import these exported tokens. Alternatively, you can manually re-register 2FA on each service with your new authenticator app.
Cloud-synced 2FA tokens add convenience but also introduce risks. If the provider is compromised, attackers could access your 2FA secrets. Apps like Aegis store tokens locally, giving you full control. If you want cloud sync for convenience, Proton Pass offers end-to-end encryption, meaning even Proton cannot access your tokens.
Authy uses phone numbers as account identifiers and for account recovery. This is convenient but ties your 2FA security to your phone number, which can be vulnerable to SIM swapping attacks. Open-source alternatives don't require any personal information to use.
With Authy, you can recover tokens via their cloud backup (tied to your phone number). With local-storage apps like Aegis, you need to maintain your own backups. Aegis supports encrypted backup files that you can store safely. Always save backup codes provided by services when setting up 2FA.
Using your password manager's built-in 2FA (like Bitwarden or Proton Pass) is convenient but slightly reduces security - if someone accesses your password manager, they get both passwords and 2FA codes. However, for most people the convenience is worth it, and it's still far more secure than not using 2FA at all. For maximum security, use a separate 2FA app.
Explore More European Alternatives
Discover privacy-focused European alternatives to other popular US tech services.