How to keep your Twitter account secure — without paying

LOS ANGELES –

Twitter customers have 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 flexibility to safe their accounts by way of textual content message two-factor authentication except they pay $8 a month to subscribe to Twitter Blue.

The message mentioned that beginning March 19, customers who do not subscribe shall be locked out of their accounts till they take away the safety function.

Here are some questions and solutions about why Twitter made this transformation and alternative routes to safe your account:

WHAT IS TWO-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 additional 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 may obtain the code.

Such codes may be generated by apps like Microsoft Authenticator or Google Authenticator. Or they are often despatched to a person’s smartphone by way of textual content message.

It’s the textual content message-based two-factor authorization that Twitter is now limiting solely to subscribers of Twitter Blue.

WHY IS TWITTER DOING THIS?

In a weblog put up Wednesday, the San Francisco-based firm acknowledged that the textual content message-based safety technique has been traditionally fashionable with its customers, however mentioned the function is being “used — and abused — by bad actors.”

The firm didn’t reply early Saturday to an e-mail looking for extra particulars on how the safety technique was being abused.

Elon Musk, who accomplished his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in October, has been looking for strategy to maximize income on the firm.

One of these 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 usually are not going to subscribe to Twitter Blue to think about using different account safety choices, particularly an authentication app or safety key.

These strategies require you to have bodily possession of the authentication technique and are a great way to make sure your account is safe.

WHAT ARE OTHER OPTIONS TO SECURE MY TWITTER ACCOUNT?

An authentication app or a safety key may even add a layer of account safety past only a password.

A safety secret’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 method, however as a substitute of a separate bodily gadget, the app is in your cellphone.

To arrange an authentication app to safe your Twitter account, you will want to obtain considered one of a lot of accessible purposes to your gadget. They are free within the Apple or Android app shops. If you’d relatively not use Google or Microsoft Authenticator, there are different choices, together with Authy, Duo Mobile and 1Password.

Once you may have 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 privacy” then “Security and account access” and eventually, “Security.” Here, you may choose “Authentication app” and observe the directions to set it up. Twitter will ask you to share your e-mail handle to do that, in case you have not already.

Once you’re all set, you need to use the auto-generated numeric codes out of your authentication app so as to add an additional layer of safety when logging into Twitter.