Email verification code: what it is
An email verification code sends a one-time code to your inbox instead of your phone. It's exactly as secure as your own email — no more, no less.
- What it is
- A code sent to your inbox
- Since
- No specific date
- Verdict
- Yes, but…
What it is
It's a type of verification that, instead of sending you a code by SMS or asking for an app, sends it straight to your inbox. You see it, copy it, and paste it wherever needed. It's mostly used by less critical services, as a second step for signing in or for resetting a password.
It doesn't depend on your carrier or any installed app: it depends on one thing only — that you can get into your email at that moment.
When it was introduced
There's no specific date: it's as old as email itself being used to verify identity. Any service with a "forgot my password" form that sends you something by email is using this same idea, dating back to the early years of email accounts.
Why it's used
It's used because everyone has an email address, and sending a code there costs the service nothing and requires you to install nothing. It's the cheapest, most universal option there is.
The flip side: that code shifts all the security onto your email. If your email is weak, any account that depends on an email code inherits that same weakness. And if your email only opens from the phone you just lost, the code is useless to you too.
Should you use it?
Yes, for secondary accounts; but your main email has to be genuinely strong. It's the account everything verified this way ends up depending on.
Check this
- How many of your accounts recover by sending a code to your email?
- Does your main email have more protection than the accounts that depend on it?
- Could you get into your email if your phone disappeared today?