Encyclopedia

PrivacyIDEA

Two factor authentication software

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors

1 min read
Source updated October 22, 2025

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

privacyIDEA is a two factor authentication system which is multi-tenency- and multi-instance-capable. It is open source, written in Python and hosted at GitHub. privacyIDEA is a LinOTP's fork from 2014.

01Fields of use

privacyIDEA provides an authentication backend for various kinds of applications (including SSH, VPN, as well as web applications such as ownCloud). Thus it is meant to replace classical proprietary two factor authentication systems such as RSA SecurID or Vasco. It supports single sign-on via SAML. It is also possible to login with a second factor to Windows desktops using a privacyIDEA Credential Provider.

02Installation

privacyIDEA runs on-premises as a web application on a Linux system. It can be set up quickly and easily. It can run on Debian, Ubuntu and RedHat.

03Authentication devices

privacyIDEA supports a wide variety of authentication devices. Amongst those are hardware tokens like Feitian C200, the Yubikey by Yubico or other U2F/WebAuthn devices. Many smartphone apps compliant with HOTP and TOTP are also supported.

Watch videos about PrivacyIDEAExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “PrivacyIDEA”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

PrivacyIDEA-token.png by Cornelinux, AGPL

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