Outlook for iOS and Android will integrate Microsoft Authenticator

According to a new entry in the Microsoft 365 roadmap, Microsoft plans to integrate Microsoft Authenticator into the Outlook mobile app to facilitate multi-factor authentication for work and school accounts.

Multi-factor authentication (MFA), also known as two-factor authentication (2FA), is currently supported by Microsoft Authenticator for personal, work, and school accounts.

The Outlook mobile app will integrate Microsoft Authenticator to support enterprise and educational account authentication.

Microsoft plans to integrate the Microsoft Authenticator Lite feature into Outlook for iOS/Android, so enterprise and student users who use Outlook will no longer need to download Microsoft Authenticator separately and can receive verification codes directly in Outlook.

According to Microsoft, the company plans to release the new version of Outlook with the Lite Authenticator feature this month, and users can update the app from the App Store or Google Play.

Some users may wonder why a separate Microsoft Authenticator is needed if it is integrated into Outlook. This is similar to Google’s approach, where users who have installed Google search or YouTube apps can confirm their login on web pages without entering a 2FA code. Microsoft’s integration allows users to click to confirm if they are online or manually enter a 2FA code if they are offline.

It is unclear why only work and school accounts are supported and not personal accounts, and it is unknown if this will change in the future.

Via: Dr. Windows