Twitter customers had been greeted early Saturday with an ultimatum from the social media app: Subscribe to the platform’s new premium service or lose a preferred account safety function.
A pop-up message warned customers they may lose the power to safe their accounts by way of textual content message two-factor authentication except they pay $8 US a month to subscribe to Twitter Blue.
The message stated that beginning March 19, customers who do not subscribe might be locked out of their accounts till they take away the safety function.
Listed below are some questions and solutions about why Twitter made this modification and alternative routes to safe your account:
What’s 2-factor authentication?
Two-factor authentication provides a second layer of safety to password-protected accounts by having customers enter an auto-generated code to log in.
This further step helps safeguard on-line accounts as a result of along with the password, you want entry to a separate app, gadget or cellphone quantity the place you possibly can obtain the code.
Such codes will be generated by apps like Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. Or they are often despatched to a consumer’s smartphone by way of textual content message.
It is the textual content message-based two-factor authorization that Twitter is now proscribing solely to subscribers of Twitter Blue.
Why is Twitter doing this?
In a weblog submit on Wednesday, the San Francisco-based firm acknowledged that the textual content message-based safety methodology has been traditionally standard with its customers, but it surely stated the function is being “used — and abused — by unhealthy actors.”
The corporate didn’t reply early Saturday to an e-mail in search of extra particulars on how the safety methodology was being abused.
Elon Musk, who accomplished his $44-billion US takeover of Twitter final October, has been looking for methods to maximise earnings on the firm.
A kind of is Twitter Blue, which amongst different options permits anybody to pay for verification beforehand reserved for celebrities, journalists and different well-known individuals.
In its weblog, Twitter inspired customers who aren’t going to subscribe to Twitter Blue to think about using various account safety choices, particularly an authentication app or safety key.
These strategies, which require you to have bodily possession of the authentication methodology, are a great way to make sure your account is safe.
Are there different safety choices?
An authentication app or a safety key will even add a layer of account safety past only a password.
A safety key’s a small, moveable gadget that generates a set of random numbers that you just enter when prompted when logging into a web-based account.
An authentication app makes use of the identical strategy, however as a substitute of a separate bodily gadget, the app is in your cellphone.
To be clear, two-factor authentication remains to be not required to log into Twitter, though we extremely encourage customers to allow it. This modification simply restricts the 2FA strategies out there for accounts not subscribed to Twitter Blue.
—@TwitterSupport
To arrange an authentication app to safe your Twitter account, you will have to obtain considered one of quite a few out there functions to your gadget. They’re free within the Apple or Android app shops. In case you’d somewhat not use Google or Microsoft Authenticator, there are different choices, together with Authy, Duo Cellular and 1Password.
After getting the app, open the desktop model of Twitter and click on on the icon exhibiting ellipses in a circle. There, you will discover “Settings and privateness,” then “Safety and account entry” and at last “Safety.” Right here, you possibly can choose “Authentication app” and comply with the directions to set it up. Twitter will ask you to share your e-mail tackle to do that, you probably have not already.
As soon as you’re all set, you should use the auto-generated numeric codes out of your authentication app so as to add an additional layer of safety when logging into Twitter.