Multi-Factor Authentication
A sign-in process that requires more than one form of evidence, reducing reliance on a password alone.
The useful mental model.
Start with the part that changes what you actually do or expect when you meet this concept in everyday digital life.
What it protects
Understand which layer this control actually protects: the account, the device, the browser session, a permission, or the network.
What it does not mean
Digital security features are easy to overestimate. The useful question is where the protection stops and which risks remain outside it.
What connects to this?
Digital life is a system. Follow the neighboring identity, data, design, security or business layer instead of stopping at one definition.
Password
A secret used to prove control of an account, most safely treated as unique to that account rather than reused across services.
Understand it →authentication conceptPasskey
A sign-in credential based on public-key cryptography that lets a device prove account access without sending a reusable password to the service.
Understand it →security conceptRecovery Codes
One-time backup codes provided by some services so an account can be recovered if a normal second factor is unavailable.
Understand it →security processAccount Recovery
The fallback process used to regain access when a normal sign-in method is unavailable, lost or compromised.
Understand it →Check the underlying references.
G7 prioritizes primary technical documentation, public-interest institutions and strong research. Product-specific behavior can change, so current service documentation remains important.