I see you are discussing one very interesting question. The question is which authentication is more preferable specifically for you.
Many millions of people use Google authentication and do not even think about other ways. However, everyone who has been interested in the development of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies for a long time and at a higher level is well aware that all open source programs are always more transparent and, in a sense, even more reliable.
And the fact that Google's closed source authentication code may well present you with certain "gifts" in the form of potential third-party access to your credentials. This is obviously always denied by the devs of such systems, but it also obviously may well be the case in life. All the same, in this dilemma (open/closed source), I still lean more towards the open source option in all programs. And in particular in variants of authentication programs.
As for security and protection against hacker attacks, it must be said that both cannot guarantee 100% protection against hacker penetration and hacking, primarily by powerful groups of hackers.
So in this sense, Google-only authentication is not a panacea and is not the only truly reliable information security tool.
There is no such thing as totally reliable security tool as eventually it comes to social engineering and user being the weakest link to be explored anyway. And so far i haven't heard of any google 2fa authenticator hacks.
Moreover, even theoretically I have no doubt that, at the request of the authorities, Google will certainly provide personal information to authorized bodies in the event of an official request. This also applies to authentication data.
Perhaps with open source authentication, the issue is also solved, of course, but not as simply as in the case of such a widespread Google.
By personal information, what exatcly are you talking about? I am assuming you are talking about the app collecting it. Google 2fa only collects my device ID, crash logs and diagnostics about diagnostics about the app functionality.
Even when i am using my android i am using a google account made only for that phone that has only 1 app installed and that's google 2fa auth. I keep the phone in a secure place so i don't lose it.
I am using it via prepaid anon account paid by cash so i would like to know what kind of data i am giving to third parties via google 2fa authenticator and for what purpose they are using it for?
If you are talking about data of how many exchanges and casinos i am using it for, i am pretty sure that most casinos would be happy to give my kyc and activity data anyway data to right officials if asked. As they are required to do so by aml laws.