2-factor authentication provides another layer of security to your Zendesk account by requiring agents and administrators to provide an expirable passcode when signing in.
2-factor authentication can be used by any agent or administrator who signs in to your Zendesk using Zendesk authentication. It’s not available for agents or administrators who sign in using third-party authentication such as Google authentication services, JWT, or SAML. However, these users might still be able to use third-party 2-factor authentication such as Google 2-Step Verification if you’re using Google authentication.
Each agent or administrator can set up 2-factor authentication for his or her own use. They can’t set it up for others. We recommend sending a message to your support team with a link to the Using 2-factor authentication article in the Agents guide.
You can use 2-factor-authentication on the Zendesk website or with the Zendesk iOS or Android apps. However, the Zendesk REST API doesn’t currently support 2-factor authentication. See Using the API when 2-factor authentication is enabled in the Developers guide.
Disabling 2-factor authentication on the account
2-factor authentication is enabled on your account by default. An administrator can disable it.
- In Zendesk, go to Admin > Settings > Security, and click the Global tab.
- Scroll to the Two-factor Authentication setting and deselect Enabled.
- Click Save.
Tracking who’s using 2-factor authentication
You can generate a CSV spreadsheet listing all the admins and agents in your account and whether or not they’re using 2-factor authentication.
- In Zendesk, go to Admin > Settings > Security, and click the Global tab.
- Scroll to the Two-factor Authentication setting and click the link, Export two-factor authentication status for admins and agents.
- Check your Zendesk email. You should get an email shortly with a link to download the spreadsheet.
