Microsoft Authenticator App iOS backup

Question

I’m using the Microsoft Authenticator App 6.8.48 on iOS with iCloud backup enabled.

The app takes 161.9 MB for the app + 25 MB of user data in local storage.

but it takes 1,49 GB in the device backup in iCloud. It really is disproportionate. What can I do to have a backup that uses around the same space as the 25MB or user data ?

Answer 1

The iCloud device backup size for Microsoft Authenticator cannot be tuned to match only the visible “user data” size in the app. iCloud device backups are controlled by iOS and can include additional app data, caches, and system metadata that are not exposed as “user data” inside Authenticator, which is why the backup footprint can be much larger than the 25 MB shown.

For Microsoft Authenticator, the supported way to keep backup size efficient and under control is to rely on Authenticator’s own cloud backup mechanism rather than the full iOS device backup:

1. Ensure Authenticator cloud backup is enabled and healthy
   • On iOS, Authenticator backs up account credentials to iCloud using a Microsoft account as the recovery account.
   • Requirements:
     • A personal Microsoft account to act as the recovery account.
     • Signed in to iCloud on the device.
   • In Authenticator:
     • Open Settings → under Backup, make sure iCloud backup is turned on.
2. Understand what is actually backed up by Authenticator
   • Microsoft personal accounts:
     • If using only one-time password (OTP) codes: the OTP configuration is backed up and restored.
     • If using passwordless sign-in: only the account name is backed up; sign-in is required again after restore.
   • Work or school accounts: only the account name is backed up; sign-in is required again.
   • 3rd party accounts (Amazon, Facebook, Gmail, etc.): OTP configurations are backed up and restored.
3. If the iOS device backup size is a concern
   • There is no Authenticator-specific setting to reduce the iOS device backup size independently; iOS manages that.
   • The practical approach is:
     • Keep Authenticator’s own cloud backup enabled (as above) so accounts can be restored on a new device.
     • If overall iCloud device backup size is too large, manage iOS backup settings at the device level (for example, by reducing which apps are included in the device backup). Any such changes are done in iOS settings, not in Authenticator.
4. If needing to reset Authenticator’s backup
   • To recreate a fresh, minimal Authenticator backup:
     1. Open Authenticator → Settings.
     2. Under Backup, turn off Cloud Backup and confirm deletion of the backup.
     3. Turn Cloud Backup on again and sign in to the correct backup account.
   • This affects Authenticator’s own cloud backup, not the size of the generic iOS device backup, but it ensures the Authenticator backup itself is clean and current.

Because iOS controls how much per-app data is included in the full device backup, there is no supported way from within Microsoft Authenticator to force the iCloud device backup size down to match only the 25 MB of user data reported by the app. The supported pattern is to rely on Authenticator’s built-in cloud backup for account recovery and manage overall iCloud device backup size through iOS settings.

---

References:

• Back up account credentials in Microsoft Authenticator
• Restore account credentials from Microsoft Authenticator
• Back up your accounts in Microsoft Authenticator
• Microsoft Authenticator FAQs
• Backup and restore scenarios for iOS/iPadOS