Raspberry Pi Connect Gets Two-Factor Authentication Support, Tagging, and On-Screen Keyboard Support

Raspberry Pi's Connect platform, originally designed to make it easier to use remote desktop connectivity on its eponymous single-board computers without the need to worry about opening ports on the router, has gained some new features — including the ability to tag and search for devices, two-factor authentication, and support for virtual keyboards on touchscreen devices like tablets.

"Raspberry Pi Connect lets you access your Raspberry Pi devices remotely from anywhere, straight from a web browser," explains Raspberry Pi principal senior engineer Paul Mucur of the company's software offering, which launched shortly after the move to the Wayland compositor made VNC remote desktop connectivity a little trickier. "Since we last wrote about Connect, we've shipped three updates that we think will make it noticeably more useful — particularly for the growing number of teams using Connect for Organizations to manage fleets of devices."

Perhaps the most important of these new features is support for two-factor authentication — going beyond the existing requirement for users to log in to the Connect platform with a username and password. When enabled users will be required to use a second factor alongside their existing login credentials, meaning that even if a username and password leaks an attacker will still be unable to access Raspberry Pi Connect and the devices it manages.

The second new feature is support for adding arbitrary tags to devices. It's not something that a maker with one or two Raspberry Pis will likely find of that much use, but is instead tailored towards corporate and industrial users where Raspberry Pi Connect may be used to manage dozens or even hundreds of devices. The tags are also accessible via a free-text search, meaning it's possible to look for every device running an advertising kiosk, for instance, or all the devices connected to 3D printers.

The last new feature will be welcomed by all, and is doubtless the most universal: support for a virtual on-screen keyboard local to touchscreen devices like tablets. "Connect's screen-sharing interface works on phones and tablets as well as desktops, but typing on a touch device was previously only possible if you attached a physical keyboard," Mucur explains. "The screen-sharing toolbar now includes a dedicated Keyboard toggle alongside the existing buttons for Ctrl, Alt, Esc, and Tab, allowing you to use an on-screen keyboard on mobile devices without any extra hardware attached."

The updates are now available in Raspberry Pi Connect, but some functionality is locked behind Raspberry PI Connect for Organizations membership — available for a four-week trial then billed monthly based on the highest number of devices seen on the account during that month.