How to turn on two-factor authentication for Discord
Discord is a great place to chat with people who might share similar interests with you. Maybe you have a YouTube channel, or you stream on Twitch and you want to create a community around that. Discord is one of the options that is available.
We’ve seen how companies have used Discord as a way to chat with their customers, allow customers to stay up to date with product launches, reach out if they have any problems, and so on.
Now, as is the case with a lot of online platforms, it uses a username and password system, which unfortunately is just as vulnerable as a lot of other systems, especially if you’re the type that reuses their passwords or uses simple to guess ones.
So if you’re trying to protect your account, then enabling two-factor authentication in Discord is a good way to go and it will only take you a minute.
Enable two-factor authentication for Discord
- Launch Discord on your computer
- Click on the user settings icon located at the bottom left of the app
- In “My Account” and under “Password and Authentication”, click on “Enable Two-Factor Auth”
- Enter your Discord password to authenticate yourself first
- Then follow the instructions on the screen to setup 2FA for your account
Why should you use 2FA?
One of the problems with using the more traditional username and password system is that people tend to use passwords that are easy to remember. This includes passwords that contain their name, date of birth, home address, and so on, things that a hacker could easily find out online.
Plus, with the numerous data breaches we’ve seen over the years, there’s a good chance that you might have a compromised account floating out there that you didn’t know about.
With 2FA, what happens is that when you login, you will be prompted to enter an additional passcode. This passcode is only good for one time and is unique each time it’s generated. It is also usually tied to your phone or a security key, meaning that it would be almost impossible for hackers to bypass.
While it is an extra step and might be troublesome at times, it’s a good way to keep your account safe in the event that someone tries to hack into it.