Authy is Twilio's 2FA app. See its 2026 status after the desktop app shutdown, current features, pricing, and the best alternatives.
Authy is a two-factor authentication (2FA) mobile app that generates time-based one-time passcodes and supports push-notification-based login approval for online accounts. It was founded around 2011 to 2012, with early roots reportedly in Colombia before the company moved to California, and it grew with seed backing that included Y Combinator before being acquired by Twilio in February 2015 for an undisclosed sum.
Historically, Authy differentiated itself from competitors like Google Authenticator through encrypted cloud backup and multi-device synchronization, letting users recover or transfer their 2FA tokens across phones without losing access to accounts.
Since the Twilio acquisition, Authy has functioned as both a free consumer app and the branding for Twilio's underlying developer authentication API, though Twilio has since encouraged business customers to adopt its newer Verify API instead of the original Authy API for new integrations.
Twilio discontinued the Authy desktop applications for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with the official end-of-life date set for March 19, 2024. Desktop users were logged out and instructed to migrate all of their 2FA tokens to the mobile-only app, a process complicated by Authy's lack of a built-in export feature.
Coverage of the shutdown indicates Twilio made the decision to concentrate development resources on higher-demand areas of its business, which several industry outlets have interpreted as a broader deprioritization of the consumer-facing Authy product in favor of Twilio's enterprise-focused Verify API.
Twilio has stated it intends to keep the Authy mobile apps available for existing users and as a consumer option, and as of this research the mobile apps remain downloadable and functional, but there has been no confirmed public commitment to ongoing feature development. Readers evaluating Authy today should check Twilio's current changelog and app store listings directly, since the product's investment level has visibly declined and its long-term roadmap has not been clearly reaffirmed.
The Authy mobile app is free for consumers and always has been; there is no subscription or paid tier for end users generating 2FA codes.
Twilio separately charges businesses for the developer-facing side of two-factor authentication through its Verify API, which is usage-based and billed per verification, but this is distinct from the free consumer Authy app.
Because Authy itself has no consumer pricing plans, there is no public pricing_plans structure to list beyond noting the app is free to download and use.
The Authy mobile app remains available and functional, but Twilio discontinued the desktop apps in March 2024 and has visibly reduced investment in the consumer product, so users should verify current status directly with Twilio before relying on it long term.
Twilio stated it wanted to concentrate development resources on higher-demand areas of its business, and ended support for the Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop apps on March 19, 2024.
Authy is owned by Twilio, which acquired the company in February 2015 for an undisclosed amount.
Yes, the Authy mobile app is free for consumers to download and use for two-factor authentication.
Authy has historically lacked an official export feature, which makes migrating to a different 2FA app a manual process of disabling and re-enrolling each account.
Commonly recommended alternatives include Aegis, Ente Auth, 2FAS, and Microsoft Authenticator, several of which offer open-source code or easier data export.
No, Twilio ended support for Authy's Windows, macOS, and Linux desktop apps in March 2024; the product is now mobile-only.
No, Authy is the original consumer 2FA app and developer API Twilio acquired in 2015, while Twilio Verify is a newer, separate API that Twilio now recommends to developers for building authentication into their own products.