Amazon Adds Two Factor Authentication For Online Shopping

Amazon is now offering two-factor authentication to help customers protect themselves against having their accounts compromised.

From now on, those who choose to have the option activated can receive an authentication code sent to their mobile phone, which they have to enter on the site before a purchase can be confirmed.

Twice as nice

In order to enable the new settings, users have to access their Advanced Security options in their Amazon account. From there, a page on two-step verification pops up with a description of how the process works.

Users can then choose one of two options on how to receive codes – either by receiving a text message or voice message containing a code sent straight to their phone, or by downloading an authenticator app to their device for when there is no connectivity available.

Interestingly, Amazon has not made a public announcement concerning the new option, but its launch means that the site joins a wide range of other companies looking to boost security for their users.

This includes chat app Snapchat, which added two-factor authentication to its service in June following a major data breach that saw user data and photos stolen.

Dropbox also added two-factor authentication to its cloud services back in August in the form of a USB dongle that adds Universal 2^nd Factor (U2F) security keys as an additional method for verification.

After typing in their password, users insert their key into a USB port rather than typing in the six-digit code as per usual.

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