Issue with PayPal and Two-Factor Authentication Using Safari as Authentication App

Hi everyone,

I'm writing about a rather strange issue I've been experiencing on Safari for Mac since I decided to stop using third-party apps to store authentication codes (via QR codes or codes). Some time ago, I switched everything to Safari, and since then, I've been encountering a problem exclusively with PayPal.

After activating two-factor authentication on PayPal and registering the code on Safari, the issue arises when I have to enter the 6-digit code through Safari.

The problem lies in the fact that the last digit automatically entered by Safari is incorrect.

This would suggest that the verification code entered on Safari is wrong. However, that's not the case. In fact, when I manually copy the code and then use it on the PayPal website, the pasted last digit turns out to be different, and the login proceeds without any issues.

I'd like to point out that this only happens with PayPal.

Thank you.

MacBook Pro 16″, 13.4

Posted on Jul 14, 2023 3:55 AM

Top-ranking reply

PodgySamurai

Level 1

20 points

Posted on Jul 17, 2023 4:09 AM

Hi cloudres, I also have the same issue. I've had this for some time, and as you say it ONLY happens on the PayPal website. (I guess there could be other sites that I don't personally use.)

In my case, the last digit entered into the 6 boxes by Safari is actually always a repeat of the first digit of the verification code. So if in Keychain the current code is '123456' then copying/pasting this into Safari works fine, but if selecting the 'autofill' option in Safari to it populates automatically, it enters '123451' and that then fails.

Interestingly, I have found that if I delete the values from the 6 boxes before clicking 'Continue' and then try the pre-population ('autofill') option again, then it does actually enter the correct code the second time and it works. Hence why I am not totally convinced it's a PayPal issue on it's own, as if it was a problem with the tags or something in the page itself, I wouldn't expect that to be changing when I retry the second time.

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Issue with PayPal and Two-Factor Authentication Using Safari as Authentication App

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