Set up two-step sign-in
Grown-up accounts use an authenticator app as well as a password or sign-in link. Set it up in a minute, add a backup and know what to do if you lose a phone.
Children don’t need it. A child signs in on their own device with a one-time code a parent makes in the Family space, never with a password, so two-step sign-in is only for grown-ups: parents and carers, teachers, school admins and tutors.
Step by step
Where: Log in or Create account, then My account › Security.
Get an authenticator app
Any authenticator app works, such as Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Apple Passwords (built into iPhone and Mac), 1Password or Authy. There’s no separate Ponder app to install.
Log in, or create your account
Straight after you log in (with your password, a sign-in link or code, or Google), or as soon as Create account has made your account, Ponder shows “Secure your account”.
Scan the QR code
In your authenticator app, choose to add an account and scan the QR code on the screen. On the same phone? Tap “Open in my authenticator app”. Can’t scan? Choose “Type in a key instead” and copy the key into the app.
Enter the 6-digit code
Type the 6-digit code your app shows for Ponder and choose “Turn on two-step sign-in”. The code changes every 30 seconds, so if it’s about to change, wait for the new one.
Next time you log in
After your password or sign-in link, Ponder asks for the current code from your app. Enter it and you’re in. Ponder never sends these codes by email or text.
Add a backup
In My account, open Security and choose “Add a backup authenticator app”, on another phone, a tablet or in a password manager. Then losing one phone never locks you out.
New phone, or lost your phone?
Changing phones
Most authenticator apps can move your accounts to a new phone. If yours can’t, open My account › Security while you still have the old phone and choose Replace: set up the new phone first, and Ponder removes the old one once the new code works.
Have a backup?
Use the code from your backup authenticator app. On the code screen, choose it from the list if you have more than one.
No backup?
Email hello@ponderlearning.com from your account’s email address and ask us to reset two-step sign-in. We’ll check it’s really you first, which can take up to one working day. Once it’s reset you’ll get an email, and Ponder asks you to set up an authenticator app again at your next log-in.
Codes not working?
Codes depend on your phone’s clock. Make sure the date and time are set automatically, then enter the newest code.