Re: What OTP settings do you use to log a 3rd-party Android MUA into Google email?

Andy Burnelli wrote:

> What OTP settings do you use to log a 3rd-party Android MUA into Google
> email (if you don't use OAuth2 and if you don't have a Google Account)?

It's interesting how almost all the references gloss over the QR code
which most of the OTP Android apps seem to want to use for initial setup.
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.shadowice.flocke.andotp>
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.fedorahosted.freeotp>
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sophos.sophtoken>
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.protectimus.android>
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.authy.authy>
 <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2>
 etc.

Hence I'm still not sure what settings to use for 2FA/2SV/MFA/MSV in the
andOTP or freeOTP temporary one-time-password apps on the Android device.

Given there are extremly painful irreversible gotchas involved (e.g., Apple
has been sued for NEVER letting you ever turn off 2FV once you turn it
on!), it behooves me to line up the 2FA/2SV/MFA/MSV ducks ahead of time.

Especially since I don't even _want_ the inevitable and unrecoverable
privacy loss that is a direct result of using 2FA/2SV/MFA/MSV in the first
place (e.g., you lose a lot of privacy as you gain a bit of security).

Google references are almost worthless in this regard, as they gloss over
the important setup options (as far as I can tell so far from searching).

For example, this Google reference only covers Apple Mail & Outlook but not
any of the common 3rd-party Android MUAs such as K9-mail or FairMail.
 *Set up Gmail with a third-party email client*
 <https://support.google.com/a/answer/9003945>

Luckily this covers the T-OTP apps, where apparently you get the QR code
from Google (AFAICT) when you turn the 2FA/2SV/MFA/MSV on in your account.
 *How to set up Gmail two-factor authentication (2FA) on your phone*
 <https://www.tomsguide.com/news/gmail-set-up-2fa-mobile>

As does this, but like that above, it's too general for direct use.
 *What is two-factor authentication and why should you use it?*
 <https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-two-factor-authentication-3092042/>

In summary, it looks like I'll have to turn 2FA/2SV/MFA/MSV on first before
it's clear what the steps are, but bear in mind that if you turn on Apple's
2FA/2SV/MFA/MSV, then you're forever dead as Apple will _never_ allow you
to turn it off (which is why I'm being cautious here by asking others).
-- 
Sometimes you can find helpful people on Usenet who know more than you do.