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DESPERATE FOR HELP!! Thought an app was backed up to my iCloud but it wasn't

Hi, so this is a bit of a long one and doesn't directly concern Apple, but I'm so desperate for any help, I figured I'd try here.


To set the stage, I set up Twitter's 2 Step Authentication on my Twitter account about 2/3 weeks ago. I'd never had it prior, but wanted extra security so I set it up. I scanned the code on the Microsoft Authenticator app and entered the one time password I got from Twitter. I knew I was going to be getting a new phone soon, so I made sure to backup the Authenticator app to my iCloud. I assumed it was like every other app and didn't need a special encryption in order to save my account key. I had absolutely NO way of knowing it would need one because I never got a prior warning, nor did I know I'd need to specifically look that information up. I had no idea until it was too late. A few hours ago, I got my new phone (an iPhone 13) and everything went great because I had all of my stuff backed up to my iCloud. The Authenticator app was saved, so I assumed it would still have my account key for my Twitter account saved to it as well. It did NOT. Now I have absolutely NO way of getting into my Twitter account. I do not have any of my backup codes saved, which is my own fault I know, but I just completely forgot to do that. I have no idea what to do next and I'm absolutely terrified I've just lost my Twitter account. I've contacted Twitter Support, I've been on Microsoft forums, but I haven't had much luck with either yet. Because this concerns my iCloud, I thought I'd try here just to see if ANYONE might have an idea of what to do. Please help me if you can.

iPhone 13, iOS 15

Posted on Dec 11, 2021 7:13 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 11, 2021 8:38 PM

If anyone can help with this, it’ll be someone at Twitter. I don’t know what their processes are for verifying your account to get you back in. But, going forward, I’d recommend using Apple’s Keychain instead of the authentication apps. If you go to Settings > Passwords there is now an option to store the authentication codes there. It will work similar to the authentication apps to where it generates that one time code for you when you go to login. This method saves across iCloud and works on all of your Apple devices. I just started using this myself, and I’m very excited about it for the exact reasons you’re having issues.


Check out help.twitter.com and try using the “Contact Us” button to see if someone there can help with getting your account back.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 11, 2021 8:38 PM in response to leina_j

If anyone can help with this, it’ll be someone at Twitter. I don’t know what their processes are for verifying your account to get you back in. But, going forward, I’d recommend using Apple’s Keychain instead of the authentication apps. If you go to Settings > Passwords there is now an option to store the authentication codes there. It will work similar to the authentication apps to where it generates that one time code for you when you go to login. This method saves across iCloud and works on all of your Apple devices. I just started using this myself, and I’m very excited about it for the exact reasons you’re having issues.


Check out help.twitter.com and try using the “Contact Us” button to see if someone there can help with getting your account back.

DESPERATE FOR HELP!! Thought an app was backed up to my iCloud but it wasn't

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