Deprecation of SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) mode

Deprecation of SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) mode

Overview of SMS-based OTP MFA mode 

The SMS-based OTP MFA method involves the delivery of a one-time password to a user's mobile phone via SMS. The user receives the OTP on their mobile phone and enters it to sign into their account.

SMS-based OTPs offer convenience due to their accessibility; nearly everyone possesses a mobile phone and SMS-based OTPs arrive quickly, allowing for easy and secure authentication.

However, there are some other considerations and security risks that make the SMS-based OTP one of the least preferable options for multi-factor authentication. Hence, we’ve decided to deprecate it as an MFA mode.

Reasons for deprecation 

SMS-based OTPs are susceptible to various attacks, including phishing, SIM swapping, and signaling system 7.

Phishing attack: Scammers send fake messages with links to websites that resemble our sign-in page. For example:
They trick you into entering your login details and OTPs. If you do, scammers can access your account, putting your personal information and security at risk.

SIM swapping: By knowing your phone number, a scammer can contact your telecom provider's customer service and request to transfer your phone number to a new SIM card, giving them access to your accounts and personal data without your consent.

Signaling system 7 attack: A hacker can spy on you via the cell phone signaling system, where they can listen to calls, intercept text messages, and track your phone's location, leading to serious security risks.

Considering the security threats in SMS-based OTPs and the guidelines on implementing phishing-resistant MFA given by the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of the United States government, we deprecated the SMS-based OTP MFA mode.

➤ Current status
     Deprecation of SMS-based OTP MFA mode for all users who signed up after January 1, 2024.

➤ Upcoming plan
     Migration of existing users and organizations currently enforcing SMS-based OTP MFA to alternate MFA modes.  

Alternate MFA modes

If you’re an organization admin, you can set up a different MFA mode for your organization in the security policies. If you’re a personal user, you can go to the multi-factor authentication section at accounts.zoho.com and set up any of the MFA modes described below.
  • OneAuth (recommended)
    Zoho OneAuth is a multi-factor authentication app that you can use to secure your Zoho account as well as third-party accounts, including Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. With OneAuth, you can set up any of the three authentication modes: push notifications, time-based OTPs, and QR codes.

  • OTP authenticator
    OTP authenticators are apps you can use to set up MFA for your account. These apps generate new OTPs in duration you set, which you can use to sign in to your account.
    Learn how to set up an OTP authenticator.

  • Security key
    A security key is a hardware device that you link to your account to enable multi-factor authentication. Once linked, you'll need to use this key each time you sign in to verify your identity.
    Learn how to set up the security key.
If you have any questions, please write to us at support@zohoaccounts.com.



Update (December 26, 2025) - Announcement page to be shown for administrators

We’re adding a new announcement page during sign-in to help organization admins currently enforcing SMS-based OTP switch to more secure MFA modes. If you're an organization admin, you’ll be asked to update the organization's MFA method by selecting from alternatives such as OneAuth, OTP Authenticator, or Security Key. Please make sure to update your organization's security policy to stay protected and comply with the new MFA requirements.

This announcement will be in effect from 29th December, 2025 (Monday).


Info
Note: Other users who currently use SMS-based OTP will receive a corresponding announcement and guided flow soon. We will update in this post once it’s available. Users can also switch to a more secure MFA mode anytime from the Multi-factor Authentication section in the Accounts page (accounts.zoho.com).

If you have any questions, please write to us at support@zohoaccounts.com.




      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • Desk Community Learning Series


        • Digest


        • Functions


        • Meetups


        • Kbase


        • Resources


        • Glossary


        • Desk Marketplace


        • MVP Corner


        • Word of the Day


        • Ask the Experts


          • Sticky Posts

          • Deprecation of SMS-based multi-factor authentication (MFA) mode

            Overview of SMS-based OTP MFA mode The SMS-based OTP MFA method involves the delivery of a one-time password to a user's mobile phone via SMS. The user receives the OTP on their mobile phone and enters it to sign into their account. SMS-based OTPs offer

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Zobot Execution Logs & Run History (Similar to Zoho Flow)

                                    Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, We would like to request an enhancement for Zoho SalesIQ Zobot: adding an execution log / run history, similar to what already exists in Zoho Flow. Reference: Zoho Flow In Zoho Flow, every execution is recorded in the History tab,
                                  • using the client script based on the look up filed i wnat to fetch the record details like service number , service rate

                                    based on selected service look up field iwant to fetch the service serial number in the serice form how i achive using client script also how i get the current date in the date field in the on load of the form
                                  • Importing into Multiselect Picklist

                                    Hi, We just completed a trade show and one of the bits of information we collect is tool style. The application supplied by the show set this up as individual questions. For example, if the customer used Thick Turret and Trumpf style but not Thin Turret,
                                  • I need to know the IP address of ZOHO CRM.

                                    The link below is the IP address for Analytics, do you have CRM's? https://help.zoho.com/portal/ja/kb/analytics/users-guide/import-connect-to-database/cloud-database/articles/zoho-analytics%E3%81%AEip%E3%82%A2%E3%83%89%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B9 I would like to
                                  • Password Assessment Reports for all users

                                    I'm the super admin and looking at the reporting available for Zoho Vault. I can see that there is a Password Assessment report available showing the passwords/weak and security score by user. However I'm confused at the 'report generated on' value. Monitor
                                  • Allow people to sign a zoho form by using esign or scanned signature

                                    Allow people to sign a zoho form by using esign or scanned signature
                                  • Can't change form's original name in URL

                                    Hi all, I have been duplicating + editing forms for jobs regarding the same department to maintain formatting + styling. The issue I've not run into is because I've duplicated it from an existing form, the URL doesn't seem to want to update with the new
                                  • How to Print the Data Model Zoho CRM

                                    I have created the data model in Zoho CRM and I want the ability to Print this. How do we do this please? I want the diagram exported to a PDF. There doesnt appear to be an option to do this. Thanks Andrew
                                  • Customer ticket creation via Microsoft Teams

                                    Hi all, I'm looking to see if someone could point me in the right direction. I'd love to make it so my customers/ end users can make tickets, see responses and respond within microsoft teams. As Admin and an Agent i've installed the zoho assist app within
                                  • Transfer ownership of files and folders in My Folders

                                    People work together as a team to achieve organizational goals and objectives. In an organization, there may be situations when someone leaves unexpectedly or is no longer available. This can put their team in a difficult position, especially if there
                                  • Setting certian items to be pickup only

                                    How do we have some items that are pickup only? I have several items in my item's list that I do not ship. But they need to be on the website to be sold, and picked up in store. Need to be able to do this as one of these products is a major seller for
                                  • Using gift vouchers

                                    We would like to be able to offer a limited number of gift vouchers, of varying values, to our customers, and are looking for the best way to do this. We have looked at Coupons and Gift Certificates, but neither seem to fit the bill perfectly. Coupons:
                                  • Automatically updating field(s) of lookup module

                                    I have a lookup field, which also pulls through the Status field from the linked record. When the lookup is first done, the Status is pulled through - this works perfectly. If that Status is later updated, the lookup field does not update as well. As
                                  • Zoho Commerce and Third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration

                                    We are implementing a third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration for our Zoho Commerce store and have made significant progress. However, we need guidance on a specific technical challenge. Current Challenge: We need to get the customer input to
                                  • Adding custom "lookup" fields in Zoho Customization

                                    How can I add a second “lookup” field in Zoho? I’m trying to create another lookup that pulls from my Contacts, but the option doesn’t appear in the module customization sidebar. In many cases, a single work order involves multiple contacts. Ideally,
                                  • Can you import projects into Zoho Projects yet?

                                    I see some very old posts asking about importing project records into Zoho Projects. But I can't find anything up to date about the topic. Has this functionality been added? Importing tasks is helpful. But we do have a project where importing projects
                                  • Allocating inventory to specific SO's

                                    Is there a way that allocate inventory to a specific sales order? For example, let's say we have 90 items in stock. Customer 1 orders 100 items. This allocates all 90 items to their order, and they have a back order for the remaining 10 items which could
                                  • Introducing Workqueue: your all-in-one view to manage daily work

                                    Hello all, We’re excited to introduce a major productivity boost to your CRM experience: Workqueue, a dynamic, all-in-one workspace that brings every important sales activity, approval, and follow-up right to your fingertips. What is Workqueue? Sales
                                  • Zoho Inventory. Preventing Negative Stock in Sales Orders – Best Practices?

                                    Dear Zoho Inventory Community, We’re a small business using Zoho Inventory with a team of sales managers. Unfortunately, some employees occasionally overlook stock levels during order processing, leading to negative inventory issues. Is there a way to
                                  • Automation #10 - Auto Assign Ticket based on Keywords

                                    This is a monthly series designed to help you get the best out of Desk. We take our cue from what's being discussed or asked about the most in our community. Then we find the right use cases that specifically highlight solutions, ideas and tips on optimizing
                                  • Automate attendance tracking with Zoho Cliq Developer Platform

                                    I wish remote work were permanently mandated so we could join work calls from a movie theatre or even while skydiving! But wait, it's time to wake up! The alarm has snoozed twice, and your team has already logged on for the day. Keeping tabs on attendance
                                  • Reusable Custom Functions Across Department Workflows

                                    Dear Zoho Desk Team, We appreciate the powerful workflow automation capabilities in Zoho Desk, particularly the ability to create and use custom functions within workflows. However, we have encountered a limitation that impacts efficiency and maintainability.
                                  • Contact data removes Account data when creating a quote

                                    Hi, Our customer has address fields in their quote layout which should be the address of the Account. They prefill the information, adding the account name - the address data is populated as per what is in the account - great. However when they then add
                                  • Feature Request - Gift Cards or Gift Voucher Capability in Zoho Commerce

                                    Hi Zoho Commerce team, I'm comming accross more and more retail businesses who sell gift cards. As there is currently no way to manage this in Zoho Commerce, it is a blocker to addoption. This is particularly popular in Europe and North America. I recently
                                  • Don't Allow Customer to Edit Values After Submitting Ticket

                                    After a customer submits a ticket through the customer portal, they can go into the ticket and see some of the values from the questions they answered in the sidebar. Currently, a customer can edit these values even after they submitted them. This makes no sense. We ask very specific questions that we don't want customers to later change! Please disable the ability for customers to edit the values to their submission questions in the portal. Screenshot attached.
                                  • Analytics <-> Invoice Connection DELETED by Zoho

                                    Hi All, I am reaching out today because of a big issue we have at the moment with Zoho Analytics and Zoho Invoice. Our organization relies on Zoho Analytics for most of our reporting (operationnal teams). A few days ago we observed a sync issue with the
                                  • text length in list report mobile/tablet

                                    Is there a way to make the full text of a text field appear in the list report on mobile and tablet? With custom layouts, the text is always truncated after a certain number of characters.
                                  • Automation #4 - Auto Delete Tickets based on Rules

                                    This is a monthly series in which we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk. Unwanted tickets spamming
                                  • Automation #3 - Auto-sync email attachments to tickets

                                    This is a monthly series where we pick some common use cases that have been either discussed or most asked about in our community and explain how they can be achieved using one of the automation capabilities in Zoho Desk. Most of our customers use email
                                  • Automation #11 - Auto Update Custom Fields with Values from Emails

                                    This is a monthly series designed to help you get the best out of Desk. We take our cue from what's being discussed or asked about the most in our community. Then we find the right use cases that specifically highlight solutions, ideas and tips to optimize
                                  • Automation #13 - Auto assign tickets based on agent shift time

                                    This is a monthly series designed to help you get the best out of Desk. We take our cue from what's being discussed or asked about the most in our community. Then we find the right use cases that specifically highlight solutions, ideas and tips to optimize
                                  • Automation #14: Capture Jira Issue Key/ID in a Ticket Custom Field

                                    Hello Everyone! This month's edition brings you a custom function to consolidate your records associated with Jira integration. Jira integration enables support engineers and R&D units to collaborate seamlessly on feature development, product improvement,
                                  • Automation #16: Automate Ticket Reopening on Scheduled Timestamp

                                    Hello Everyone! This edition uncovers the option to schedule reopening a ticket automatically. Zylker Finance tracks insurance policyholder activities through Zoho Desk. For policyholders who pay monthly premiums, tickets are closed upon payment completion.
                                  • Automation#19:Auto-Close Tickets Upon Task Completion

                                    Hello Everyone! We’re excited to bring you another custom function this week. In this edition, we’ll show you how to automatically close tickets when all associated tasks are marked as completed. Let’s see how ZylkaPure, a leading water filter company,
                                  • Automation #15: Automatically Adding Static Secondary Contacts

                                    Rockel is a top-tier client of Zylker traders. Marcus handles communications with Rockel and would like to add Terence, the CTO of Zylker traders to the email conversations. In this case, the emails coming from user address rockel.com should have Terence
                                  • How to apply customized Zoho Crm Home Page to all users?

                                    I have tried to study manuals and play with Zoho CRM but haven't found a way how to apply customized Zoho CRM Home Page as a (default) home page for other CRM users.. How that can be done, if possible? - kipi Moderation Update: Currently, each user has
                                  • City field suggestion in Zoho Books

                                    Hi team, We are using Customers module in Zoho Books. In the Address section, we want to understand whether the City field can show suggestions while typing using any API or built-in feature. For example, if a user types “Mum”, can the system suggest
                                  • Improved UX design for Projects CRM integration

                                    The current integration embeds the entier projects inteface into the CRM this is confusing and allows users to get lost. For example as a user i navigate to an account and go down to the related projects list and want to get information about a specific
                                  • Link Purchase Order to Deal

                                    Zoho Books directly syncs with contacts, vendors and products in Zoho CRM including field mapping. Is there any way to associate vendor purchase orders with deals, so that we can calculate our profit margin for each deal with connected sales invoices
                                  • Transformer vos stocks en décisions intelligentes avec Zoho Inventory et Zoho Analytics

                                    Zoho Inventory permet de suivre facilement les niveaux de stock et d’anticiper les restockages. Pour de nombreuses entreprises, cela suffit à gérer les opérations au quotidien. Mais à mesure que l’activité se développe, cette clarté peut commencer à montrer
                                  • Next Page