When you upgrade to a smart home, you want to make sure you’re the only one in control of your devices, starting with the most secure smart plugs. These plugs all need to support some form of extra authentication to sign in to the management app, so even if your password leaks, you’re the only one with access. While most of these devices are controlled primarily through a smart home assistant like Alexa or Google Assistant, most of the time, they still need to be set up in another app, and two-factor authentication helps to make sure you’re the only one with access.
Just one app
Amazon Smart Plug
Staff Pick
There are many brands to choose from but sticking with Amazon for your smart plug allows you to stick with the Alexa app for setup and control. Alexa works with two-factor authentication, including support for your preferred authentication app like Google Authenticator. The Amazon Smart Plug is compact and easy to set up, supporting most appliances for up to 15A of power. It also works over Wi-Fi, so you don’t need a hub.
$25 at Amazon
$25 at Best Buy
$25 at B&H
Great value
Wyze Indoor Smart Plug (2-pack)
You need to use the Wyze app for the initial setup of this smart plug, but two-factor authentication is supported via authenticator apps or text messages. This compact plug can be controlled with Alexa once it’s set up, supporting automation and control in the Wyze app with features such as vacation mode to make it seem like your home when you’re away. This Wi-Fi plug doesn’t need any hubs to work with 2.4GHz Wi-Fi support.
$20 at Amazon
Compact power
D-Link Mini WiFi Smart Plug
D-Link makes smart home tech easy with a well-designed app with two-factor authentication handled per device within its app. Once you get set up on the mydlink app, you can approve your current device and use it to support all new sign-in attempts. In addition, D-Link’s compact plug works with Wi-Fi, so no hub is required and is compact enough to fit next to another in most power outlets.
$25 at Amazon
Dual power outdoors
Wyze Outdoor Smart Plug
Wyze also makes a robust outdoor smart plug solution with IP64 weather resistance to keep working even after it rains or snows. Two buttons on the unit allow it to control directly and through the Wyze app, including connected voice assistants. As with other Wyze devices, your account in the Wyze app can be secured with two-factor authentication.
$18 at Amazon
Outdoor with USB
D-Link Outdoor Smart Plug
With two main outlets and a USB port, this outdoor smart plug from D-Link is perfect for the patio or back deck. With a single unit, you can control multiple outdoor devices like lights. The USB port also makes it simple to connect and charge wireless devices whether you need power for a phone charger or want to power up your Bluetooth speaker without bringing a power brick outside.
$18 at Amazon
For your Hue
Philips Hue Smart Plug
If you’ve already bought into the huge Philips Hue ecosystem and have a hub handy, you’ll know that you can set up two-factor authentication for your account. You can add the Philips’ Hue Smart Plug to a Hue Bridge for the complete feature set, but you can also control it out of the box via Bluetooth. Its compact size makes it easy to fit in with just about any power outlet.
$35 at Newegg
Keep your network secure
There are many ways to keep your home network secure, but it all starts with access. While a standard password can be made sufficiently complex not to be guessed, what happens if your password were to leak? Two-factor authentication adds another step in the process, and with biometrics and authenticator apps on your Android phone, you can quickly gain secure access to your account. While SMS authentication is often an option, it’s not the best method though it’s still better than nothing at all.
There are still some other ways to improve security, such as upgrading to one of the best wireless routers with security built in such as Asus AiProtection Pro and Netgear’s excellent, though expensive, Netgear Armor software package.
If you’re looking for something both secure and simple, Amazon’s Smart Plug is easily set up in the Alexa app, which features extra security steps for your entire Amazon account. If you haven’t set up two-factor authentication on your Amazon account, it’s a great time to get started. This plug is only built for indoor power delivery but is compact enough that it won’t get in the way of other plugs in your outlets and can even be placed right next to another Smart Plug.