GoogleauthenticateGoogle has pulled its Google Authenticator app from the App Store following an update that removes all stored accounts when installed.

The app is used with Google's two-factor authentication service to make logging in to Google accounts more secure.

TechCrunch reports that users who don't have a trusted computer will need to reset their all stored tokens on Google that allow other services like Dropbox or Evernote to connect to users' Google accounts.

Updating the app removes all your existing accounts, with users complaining in reviews for the update that they’ve lost their Dropbox, Google Apps, DreamHost, Twilio, Evernote and other tokens after updating and have been forced to sync each over again. It could leave you locked out of your accounts entirely and forced to contact support for a reset, as Dashlane’s co-founder Alexis Fogel tells us is happening with his service, and it’s something that will also result in an awful lot of unnecessary busy work to set up things that have already been set up before.

The update points to a larger potential problem with iOS 7, where app updates will download automatically onto iOS devices. MacRumors has heard from several iOS 7 beta testers who lost their account info on Google Authenticator because the update was downloaded automatically when it was released.

iOS 7 users do have the option to revert to the manual update scheme used in prior versions of iOS.

There is no word from Google on when the app will be updated and returned to the App Store. The update also includes a new design with a flat icon to match Apple's iOS 7 look-and-feel.

Google Authenticator is normally available free from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

supmango Avatar
155 months ago
This isn't an OS problem. It's a problem with developers not properly testing apps before they are distributed.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
S.B.G Avatar
155 months ago
iOS 7 users do have the option to revert to the manual update scheme used in prior versions of iOS.

This will be one of the things I'll be doing when iOS 7 comes to my devices.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sniffies Avatar
155 months ago
Big freakin' deal. :rolleyes:

All you, people, had to do was re-scan the barcode found in your account settings and you'd be good to go.

People love to dramatize, I tell ya.

:rolleyes::rolleyes:
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
baryon Avatar
155 months ago
Software updates: Ruining everything, every time, for everyone since 2001.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rigby Avatar
155 months ago
The text of this article is inaccurate. The Authenticator app has nothing to do with allowing "other services like Dropbox or Evernote to connect to users' Google accounts", and it does not "store tokens on Google". It just needs to be re-synced with with any accounts that you use it for (e.g. Dropbox, Google etc.).
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Eraserhead Avatar
155 months ago
Software updates: Ruining everything, every time, for everyone since 2001.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Except for all the bugs and security issues that are fixed by updates...

Google should be reconsidering their delivery process here for this screwup.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

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