Gmail Will Soon Use QR Codes For Two-Factor Authentication

Google has long offered SMS as an option to receive two-factor authentication codes for Gmail. However, there are risks associated with it. Criminals can easily intercept SMS verification and make you a victim of online fraud. Worry not, that’ll soon be the problem of the past. You’ll soon start receiving QR codes instead of SMS for two-step verification to access Gmail.

You’ll soon be able to access Gmail by verifying your identity through a QR code

Yesterday, Forbes reported that the new verification method will roll out over the next few months. Speaking to the news outlet, Gmail spokesperson, Ross Richendrfer, said that Google is turning to the new method to “reduce the impact of rampant, global SMS abuse.”

That said, Google isn’t axing the reliance on smartphones for verification. The only difference is that you will get a QR code to scan instead of the six-digit SMS code to access Gmail. While SMS verification is useful, it isn’t as reliable as the other verification methods. In fact, it has some risks.

For example, SMS verification codes can also promote traffic pumping, a common trick used by cyber criminals to make money for each text. Richendrfer notes that with the above trick, “fraudsters try to get online service providers to originate large numbers of SMS messages to numbers they control, thereby getting paid every time one of these messages is delivered.”

The new method has its benefits

Google says that authentication via QR codes for Gmail has its benefits. First, the company says that verifying through QR codes reduces the phishing risk. That’s because the targeted Gmail user won’t have any code to share with a fraudster.

More recently, Google has been making some useful changes to the Gmail app. Now, Gmail users on Android and iOS can directly pay their bills from the top of an email.