Bitwarden Authenticator now lets you import TOTP tokens from other authenticator apps

Bitwarden Authenticator has added support for exporting and importing Time-based One-Time Passwords (TOTPs) tokens from other apps. The news was shared by a Bitwarden employee on the company’s Reddit community.

In case you missed it, Bitwarden Authenticator was launched about a month ago, as a standalone app. Currently, the app allows you to import your 2FA (2-factor authentication) security tokens from Bitwarden Password Manager, Google Authenticator, LastPass, 2FAS, Aegis (for Android), and Raivo (for iOS). Just a reminder, Raivo was sold to a third-party last year, and according to recent reports an update for the app deleted all TOTPs without any prior warning, so you may want to switch to a different authenticator app.

How to import TOTP tokens from other apps to Bitwarden Authenticator

1. Aegis, Raivo, LastPass users will need to export a .JSON file from their app’s settings, while 2FAS users will need to get a .2FAS file from the app. Google Authenticator users can use the Transfer accounts section in the app to generate a QR Code, and bring their tokens over to Bitwarden. You can refer to the official guide for more details.

2. Open Bitwarden Authenticator, and tap on the settings tab at the bottom of the screen.

3. Tap on Import.

4. Select the app that you want to import from, and select the file saved on your device.

5. That’s it. You should see a message at the bottom of the screen that says “verification codes imported”.

Bitwarden Authenticator also allows you to export your tokens to a .JSON file, which you can get from the Settings > Export section. You may use it to save a backup of your credentials, which is important, considering that the app does not sync the data to the cloud. I recommend enabling the “Unlock with Biometrics / Face ID” option in the app’s settings to prevent other users from accessing your codes, and protect your online accounts from unauthorized usage.

Note: Some Reddit users reported that Bitwarden fails to import the tokens from 2FAS. But it worked fine for me. I did notice a second update for Bitwarden Authenticator, which may have contained a patch that fixed the bug.

There is no official way to import TOTPs from Microsoft Authenticator or Authy, but it’s not Bitwarden’s fault. Those apps don’t allow the tokens to be exported easily. That said, there is an unofficial method to export your tokens from Authy, you will need to follow this guide on GitHub. I used a similar method to get my security tokens from Authy and imported them to Authy a few years ago.

Personally, I don’t want my passwords and TOTP tokens in the same app, which is why I don’t use Bitwarden’s Password Manager’s built-in feature for managing my TOTPs. But I can see why others may prefer to have them in the same place. Some people may want to sync their TOTPs between multiple devices, and it can also be useful if you were switching to a new mobile phone. The new method to import/export the data can help with backing up or moving to new devices easier.

Bitwarden Authenticator is free, open source, and works offline. It is available for iOS and Android devices. You don’t need an account to use the app. 2FAS (iOS and Android) and ente Authenticator (iOS and Android) are similar open source authenticator apps, which I can recommend if you don’t want to use Bitwarden Authenticator.

Summary