Products · Pattern or everyday thing
Multi-factor authentication
Raised as a usability problem by 9 people on Hacker News over 8 years (2019–2026), in 9 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
Every issue, all time, most people first
MFA is disruptive, and authenticator apps and passkeys are confusing to set upUnreviewed
20192026- Too many different MFA workflows and steps required for every login, with codes split across apps, SMS and email2026-08-28
- End users find MFA disruptive, and authenticator apps and passkeys are confusing to set up2025-05-13
- Too many inconsistent MFA variants, so users can't predict which verification step they'll face2023-07-04
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 9 complaints
- Too many different MFA workflows and steps required for every login, with codes split across apps, SMS and email2026-08-28
- Logins take many steps: username, password, security key, PIN, and button press2025-07-30
- End users find MFA disruptive, and authenticator apps and passkeys are confusing to set up2025-05-13
- Must fetch phone for codes on low-stakes logins; TOTP not autofilled2024-03-30
- Requiring a phone for a second factor is impractical where phones die in the field2023-12-11
- Too many inconsistent MFA variants, so users can't predict which verification step they'll face2023-07-04
- People find MFA confusing, forget how it works after logins from new places2022-03-14
- Lockouts from SMS, authenticator, and security-question recovery leave people permanently locked out of accounts2020-06-19
- Recovery options are bad: lose the backup codes or phone and you're locked out2019-07-11