Google will automatically enable two-step verification for users

Google will automatically enable two-factor authentication for accounts that are “technically ready for it”. Also, users who already use two-factor authentication will receive a prompt on Thursday to confirm their identity.

“Today we’re asking people who have already signed up for two-factor authentication to confirm it’s really them,” Google wrote in a blog post. This will be done via a Google prompt on a phone, if users sign in to their Google account. Google does that to draw attention to the use of two-factor authentication.

Soon, Google will automatically enable two-factor authentication for more users. This will happen to accounts that have already been configured correctly. This means that recovery options must be set. Among other things, Google looks at whether users use their account on multiple devices. That significantly reduces the chances of people getting locked out of their account.

“We’ll start with the users for whom it will be the least disruptive change,” Google told Motherboard. This has already started with a select group of users and will be expanded in the coming months. These are users who regularly log into their Google account on a smartphone and have set up a recovery method, such as a phone number or email address. While Google automatically turns on two-factor authentication, users do have the option to turn it off again.