Dumb Down — Google Messages login helper — Jack Nugent

Google removed QR pairing for Messages-for-web, so linking Google Messages now means signing into your Google account and transferring that session to your phone – this helper does that safely for the dumb phone 2 at dumb.co.

How it works:
- You sign into Google in a private window.
- The add-on reads that window's login cookies and shows them as a QR code.
- The Dumb Down companion app scans the QR and forwards the login to your phone over an encrypted relay.

Why a private window? Google rotates its session cookie about every 30 minutes and only one holder can rotate it. A login captured from your everyday browser profile would sign your phone out within half an hour; a private window you close afterward keeps your phone linked.

Privacy: the add-on only reads your Google cookies and draws them on screen. It makes no network requests of its own – your login never leaves your computer except when your own phone scans the QR.