2FA Authenticator vs BurnPony Self
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
2FA Authenticator
This privacy-focused app generates time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) to secure your online accounts. It offers features like one-tap code access, QR code scanning for easy setup, and automatic blurring for enhanced privacy. Your secrets are stored securely on your device and never transmitted to any server.
- One-tap code generation
- QR code scanning for setup
- Google Authenticator import
- Automatic blur for privacy
- Offline code generation
- Secure backup and export
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Secure your accounts with Autheris — a privacy-first two-factor authentication (2FA) app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Autheris generates the time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) that protect your most important accounts, and keeps the secrets behind them on your device. No account, no sign-up, no ads. NOW ON APPLE WATCH • One Code at a Time — Your codes on your wrist, each with a live countdown. Turn the Digital Crown to move between them. • Read-Only by Design — There is no copy, no editing and no settings on the watch. Your iPhone stays the one place codes are managed. • Works Without Your iPhone — Codes are generated on the watch itself, so they keep counting down with your phone out of reach or switched off. KEY FEATURES • One-Tap Codes — Copy a code with a single tap. The clipboard clears itself after 60 seconds. • Pin and Reorder — Pin the codes you use most to the top, and drag the rest into whatever order suits you. • Recently Deleted — Delete a code by mistake? It stays on your device for 7 days, ready to restore. • QR Scanning — Add an account by scanning a QR code, or choose a screenshot from your photo library. • Time-Based and Counter-Based Codes — TOTP for almost every service, and HOTP for the ones that hand you a counter instead, each with SHA-1, SHA-256 or SHA-512 and 6 to 10 digits. If a service rejects your codes, the algorithm is editable per account. • Import — Bring your token generator accounts across from Google Authenticator, Aegis, andOTP or 2FAS. • Search — Find any account instantly, however long your list gets. • Issuer Icons — Familiar brand marks so you can spot an account at a glance. • Countdown Ring — A clear, colour-customisable ring shows how long each verification code has left. PRIVACY AND SECURITY • Face ID / Touch ID Lock — Locks when opened, and again after 30 seconds away. • Blurred When Backgrounded — Content blurs when you switch apps, and your codes are hidden in the app switcher. • Protected While Recording — Codes are covered whenever your screen is being recorded or mirrored. • Secrets Stay on Your Device — Codes and setup keys are kept in your device's Keychain and never leave it unless you export them or turn on iCloud Sync. • Encrypted Backups — Save an AES-256-GCM encrypted backup protected by a password only you know. • Optional iCloud Sync — Off by default. When you enable it, your secrets are end-to-end encrypted by CloudKit, and the developer cannot read them. • No Account, No Tracking — Nothing to sign up for, no analytics, no advertising. Autheris is open source. Install Autheris, add an account, and keep your second factor — and your 2-step login — under your own control.
BurnPony Self
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Write a secret. Share one link. It reads once and burns. BurnPony encrypts your note on your phone before anything is sent. The server stores only ciphertext it cannot read, the decryption key travels in a part of the link that browsers never transmit, and the recipient needs nothing but a browser. No app on their side, no account on yours. WHAT IT DOES One link, any recipient, any device with a browser. View limits from 1 to 100, expiry from 5 minutes to 30 days, an optional auto-hide timer after reveal. Optional passphrase as a second factor, shared through a different channel than the link. Read receipts, honestly: the recipient is told before they open. No silent tracking, ever. Labels that never leave your phone: name a note "wifi password for mom" and the read notification says so, while the server knows nothing. Sent Notes: live status, view counts, change the expiration after sending, burn early with a swipe. The recipient page speaks nine languages, following the reader's browser. WHY YOU CAN CHECK INSTEAD OF TRUST The entire system is open source: this app, the server, and the recipient page, with a written protocol specification and cross-implementation test vectors. The note page is byte-reproducible from its published source, so View Source is a real audit, not a gesture. You can even run your own server and point the app at it from Settings. HONEST LIMITS Self-destruction limits exposure; it cannot un-share. A recipient can always copy or photograph a revealed note, and BurnPony says so on the note page itself, because a privacy tool that overpromises is worse than none. From NorseHorse, maker of PGPony, CarrierPony, AgePony, RelayPony, and QuorumPony.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: 2FA Authenticator at every 2 days against BurnPony Self's every 2 weeks. 2FA Authenticator also leads on device support (4 vs 1). BurnPony Self's advantage is iOS requirement (18.6 vs 26.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
2FA Authenticator ships an update every 2 days, BurnPony Self every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | 2FA Authenticator | BurnPony Self |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hunter Eddington | Kevin Stewart |
In-app purchases
2FA Authenticator
No in-app purchases
BurnPony Self
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is 2FA Authenticator free?
Is BurnPony Self free?
Do 2FA Authenticator or BurnPony Self have ads?
Which is updated more often, 2FA Authenticator or BurnPony Self?
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