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When visiting Kagi, if the user is not logged in, show a QR code and a 'connect code', so that users can scan the QR code with a smartphone or use the connect code on desktop. Then the user can type with their phone or computer, and then see the results on the original device.

Every now and then I have to endure the agony of doing searches on some non-everyday devices. It can be my PS5, Nintendo Switch, or my eInk reader.

Now unlike Google, which does not require me to log in, I have to manually type in my super long password with a bunch of special characters to use Kagi, and some devices really don't make this easy.

This annoyance recently peaked when I tried searching on my Fire TV stick. After having managed to type my email and password carefully with my four-button gymnastics into its Silk browser, not only was I frustrated to find out that Silk didn't support downloading (I wanted to sideload an app), it also seemed that Silk had some issues with cookies cos I was logged out of Kagi after a refresh. So when I realised that I needed to do this all over again in Downloader, I reached my 'I'll just use Google' moment and cowardly gave up.

So I think it'd be great if Kagi can offer a 'remote control' feature to ease the pain. It's very common these days to use this mechanism to simplify the login experience on smart TVs, gaming consoles, etc. PS5 also allows me to type in my credit card info by scanning a QR code and continue back on PS5. This can be something similar but for searching. And instead of permanently logging in the device, a temporary token / session cookie can be issued with only access to search.

    Maybe rename this suggestion to something like "Login with other device via QR code". The title matters, if you want to gain attraction for this suggestion. šŸ˜…

    +1 for this suggestion

      Value7609 Yeah, in retrospect I should've added that to the title although my suggestion was a little more than that (typing in search terms on phone/desktop, temporary search-only access).

      But of course there can be an option on the phone/desktop to permanently log in the device and give it access to settings, billing, etc.

      Unfortunately it seems that titles are not editable?

          Vlad changed the title to Login with other device via QR code .

            I switch computer stations frequently at work and would love to be able access Kagi as easily as I can. I have a long hard to remember password saved to a password manager that is not easily accessible on my work computer. I would love for there to be a section called ā€œlogin with deviceā€ on the login page.

            Iā€™d envision a QR code popping up that I could then scan perhaps via a button on the Kagi settings page on a device that I am already logged in from. (Is this possible to do via a webpage on mobile Safari/Orion?) I would be given the choice to permanently login (like logging in with username and password) or a temporary login that would not have full access to all the settings.

            I could see and manage the temporary QR logins from an Account Management section. They would logout automatically after an adjustable period so that I would not have multiple computers with my Kagi account logged in.

            Is something like this possible?

            Thanks!

            Scott

              To elaborate:

              Iā€™d envision it similar to how you currently can log into streaming services on an AppleTV. Youā€™d click the ā€œlogin with deviceā€ option and something like a QR code or 6 digit code would be displayed allowing you to login from an already logged in device. This form of a log in would be limited in what settings it could change and could be set to logout automatically after a certain amount of time.

              Seems like something that would be doable.

              • Vlad replied to this.

                SK Perhaps you are looking for extra login options such as
                Email me a magic link
                Scan a QR code

                These would be different ways to authenticate. The logged in user would have some privileges as normaly though, therse are just additional authentication methods (password is one of them).

                • SK replied to this.

                    Vlad Hi Vlad, I work in an area where I move to different computers nearly every day. I can't easily access Kagi since my password is a randomly generated 20+ character password saved in my password manager. I also cannot easily login to my email account for the same reason. That also requires hardware 2FA on a new computer.

                    It would not be wise to try and login with my password manager since that would require typing in my master password and connecting a security key every time I would want to use it.

                    Currently there are options to login with email/password or Apple/Google/Microsoft accounts. I'd love to see a third option of "Login with Device."

                    This would either give a QR code to scan or give me a 6 digit code. It might be easiest to give the code after asking for your username or email. This code would expire within a few minutes, but within that timeframe I could either scan it from a phone already logged into Kagi or be able to type in that code. This button could be located on the Control Center to make it easy accessible.

                    If scanned or typed in then whatever computer I do that on would get logged in. This login should have the same default features (AI, lenses, bangs, custom CSS, etc) as the main account but should otherwise be limited. From my main account (or any computer where I officially log in with email and password) I could adjust the privileges of this temporary login. There could be a new section showing all the computers currently logged in. I could force a logout (for situations where I forgot to logout when I leave the computer) or change the auto logout time (i.e., logout after 3 hours).

                    You know how you login to a lot of streaming services on AppleTV? You click login on the app on the AppleTV and it prompts you to go to a website on a device already logged in. It asks for the number displayed on the screen and boom your AppleTV is now logged in without you having to type anything on it directly.

                    My phone and laptop are always logged into Kagi. It would be an amazing feature to be able to use one of those devices and authenticate a temporary login on a work computer.

                      7 months later
                      Merged 4 posts from QR codes for temporary login on work computers.

                        I like how Discord has log in with QR code and I often use it with my phone to authenticate. I agree this would be very useful to add to our login form.

                        6 months later

                        The recent QR code login is terrific. Thank you so much! I will now be able to log in very easily at work. Is there a way to see all locations currently logged in or at least make the ones that had a QR login time out after a fixed period of time? I'd hate to leave a computer at work and have it stay logged in when I am not there.

                        • Vlad replied to this.

                          SK New feature suggestion please šŸ™‚

                              12 days later

                              Idk if anyone else is experiencing this issue, but when I scan the QR code, nothing really happens. Iā€™m told that they havenā€™t found anything. It would be awesome to be signed in automatically, without having to type in my credentials every time, so I would love to use the QR code. Am I missing something?

                              • Vlad replied to this.
                                No one is typing