On Friday, Twitter announced that starting from March 20th, only users who subscribe to Twitter Blue will be able to use text messages as a two-factor authentication (2FA) method to secure their accounts. Two-factor authentication is a security feature that requires users to provide a second method of authentication in addition to their password to access their accounts.
According to a Twitter account security report, only 2.6% of Twitter users had a 2FA method enabled in 2021, and of those, 74.4% used SMS authentication.
However, Twitter has observed that phone-number based 2FA has been abused by bad actors, and as a result, the text message/SMS method of 2FA will only be available to Twitter Blue subscribers.
This change is intended to enhance security on the platform by limiting access to this authentication method to paid subscribers only. The platform will still offer two other authentication methods at no cost: an authentication mobile app and a security key.
In a blog post on Wednesday, Twitter stated that it believes phone number-based two-factor authentication (2FA) is being misused by malicious actors. The post was linked to in a tweet from the company. Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, replied to a user’s tweet suggesting that the company’s policy change was due to telecommunications companies using bot accounts to inflate 2FA SMS usage, causing the company to lose $60 million per year to SMS scams. Musk simply replied “Yup” in agreement.
In addition, the blue checkmark that was previously granted for free to verified accounts of politicians, famous personalities, journalists, and other public figures, it is now available for anyone willing to pay.
Twitter recently announced that it will charge Android users $11 per month for a Twitter Blue subscription, the same as for iOS subscribers. In a recent report, the cabinet ministers with the most Twitter followers were listed.
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Author: Agency Staff
