Google is expanding the ability to use an Android phone as a physical two-factor authentication security key to include iOS devices.
If you have Google’s Smart Lock app installed on your iPad or iPhone and have 2-Step Verification enabled on your account, you can hold the volume down button on your Android hardware (when prompted) to greenlight the login on the other platform.
Once it’s all set up, when you log into your Google account on an iOS device, the app is able to ping the Android phone over Bluetooth. Then, users can confirm that they are, in fact, the one trying to log in on the Android device, which relays that information back to the iOS device, and allows the login to proceed.
Given that security key support for iOS devices has been somewhat limited, adding the option to use an Android phone makes the enhanced security feature much more accessible. Google envisions that the setup would be used by someone with, say, an iPad and an Android phone, which makes sense.
There will only be so many people who have both Android and iOS devices and want to use one to sign in to the other. Google also warns that it would be wise to have a backup physical security key in case you ever lose your phone. This could be particularly useful if you’re in a corporate environment where you need multiple devices, though, as you won’t have to worry so much about hackers compromising vital data. It could also help you mix up platforms at home without worrying that security will fall by the wayside.
