Sign in with a QR code
Signing in on a new device usually means typing your password. If you are already signed in on your phone, there is a faster way: scan a QR code, and approve.
How it works
- On the device you want to sign in — a desktop, a laptop, a TV, any browser — go to the sign-in
page. The Sign in with your phone panel shows a QR code and a short code like
K7Q4(on a small screen, tap the panel title to open it). - Point your phone's camera at the QR code. Your phone must already be signed in to Suede — any phone browser will do.
- Your phone shows what is asking to sign in — the device, when the request started — and the same short code. Check that the codes match, then choose Continue.
- The other device signs in by itself, and your phone shows a confirmation. Done — no password typed anywhere.
The email on your account receives a notice each time a sign-in is approved this way, so an approval you did not expect never goes unseen.
The matching code
The short code is the heart of the safety story. It appears in exactly two places: on the screen that is asking to sign in, and on your phone. If someone sends you a QR code — in a chat, an email, a photo — the code on your phone will not match anything in front of you, because the screen showing its half is the attacker's, not yours. Never approve a request whose code you cannot see with your own eyes, and never approve a sign-in you did not just start yourself.
Small print
- A code is valid for 90 seconds and works once. The page mints a fresh one when it expires.
- Choosing Cancel on your phone declines the request; nothing is signed in.
- The new session appears in Sessions labeled via phone approval, and can be revoked there like any other.
- Approving requires a signed-in phone; scanning with a signed-out phone just brings you to the sign-in page first.