Take a break from getting Victory Royales on Fortnite to read this important piece of advice: you can, and should add two-factor authentication to your Epic Games account. It's easy and takes all but a few minutes to get it done, and you'll be glad you did.
What's two-factor authentication?
Two-factor authentication is a security system that requires two levels of authentication for logging into an account. In most scenarios, the first level will be your typical password, and while a strong password alone is a good start, it's not foolproof. If someone were to find out your password somehow, they'd be escorted right into your account like they own the place.
But with two-factor authentication, the person trying to break or hack into your account would need a secondary, separate form of authentication to get going. In most cases, this second factor is some sort of security code sent to your email address or phone but could be something as high tech as a piece of hardware that you plug into your computer.
You might already be using two-factor authentication in your life and not even realize it. If you've ever been to an ATM to take cash out of the bank, you'll know that it requires not just the bank card, but also the security code that only you know.
Two-factor Authentication: Everything you need to know
Should you enable two-factor authentication on your Fortnite account?
In short: yes. Even if you don't think someone could possibly get your password, just do it. There are all sorts of phishing scams and schemes out there designed to get you to hand over your password, and even the most eagle-eyed people with an awareness of these schemes could slip up. That's not to mention what could happen if you're using the same password in multiple places (which you absolutely shouldn't do!) and one of those places suffers a breach of security.
By enabling two-factor authentication, you're ensuring that anyone who happens upon your password can't truly access the account. It may seem harmless for someone to hack into a user account for a game like Fortnite at first thought, but there's a lot at risk if it happens.
The biggest risk is for those who have spent money on the game. Not only could someone hijack your account, they can also see your billing information such as your name, your address, and the last four digits of your credit card number. While it's unlikely someone could figure out how to commit credit card fraud from that data alone, that information could be used to trick, say, a customer service agent into thinking you are the person you're attempting to fraud.
And that's not just a concern for your Fortnite account — they can use that information anywhere you do business.
There's also the matter of someone using your money on skins and potentially sending you into financial peril. It's just plain annoying to deal with, and it's certainly something you want to avoid if at all possible.
Two-factor authentication is required for gifting
Fortnite's 6.31 feature update added gifting. While initially only available for a limited time (one week from November 27), there's one important thing required: you need two-factor authentication enabled on your account in order to gift items. Here are other things you should know about gifting :
- Make sure you have Multi-factor authentication enabled on your account. If you're not sure how to get this setup then check out the instructions here.
- You must have been friends with somebody for at least 48 hours before you can send a gift to them.
- You will only be able to gift an item three times within a 24 hour period.
- Any gifts that are purchased are NOT refundable.
- You can only gift an item that is currently available in the Item Shop.
- As a side note, gifting is not available on iOS.
There were already more than enough reasons to enable two-factor authentication on your Epic Games account for Fortnite, and now there's even more incentive.
How to enable two-factor authentication on your Epic Games account
Now that you've been informed, it's time to take action. Thankfully, securing your Fortnite account is quick and easy. Here's how to do it:
- Head to the Epic Games website and sign in.
- Hover over your username in the upper-right corner and click Account.
- In the left menu, click Password & Security.
- Scroll down to the Account Security section and click Enable Two-Factor Sign In.
And that's it. By default, Epic Games will use the verified email address you used to sign up. When attempting to log into the account on a new device or after 30 days of inactivity, they will send a code to that email address which you'll need to use to complete the login process. Now you can worry less about the nefarious deeds of hackers and more about those of the people trying to keep you from victory in Fortnite!
Fortnite for Android: Everything you need to know
Updated November 2018: Gifting is coming to Fortnite, and it requires 2FA. We have all the details for you in our latest update.
