How to keep your Twitter account secure without paying

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 well-liked account safety characteristic.

A pop-up message warned customers they’ll lose the power 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 don’t subscribe will probably be locked out of their accounts till they take away the safety characteristic.

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 further step helps safeguard on-line accounts as a result of along with the password, you want entry to a separate app, system 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 consumer’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 well-liked with its customers, however mentioned the characteristic is being “used – and abused – by bad actors.”

The firm didn’t reply early Saturday to an electronic mail searching 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 option to maximize earnings 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 are usually not going to subscribe to Twitter Blue to think about using various 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 is a small, moveable system that generates a set of random numbers that you just enter when prompted when logging into an internet account.

An authentication app makes use of the identical strategy, however as a substitute of a separate bodily system, the app is in your cellphone.

To arrange an authentication app to safe your Twitter account, you have to to obtain one in every of a lot of out there functions to your system. 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 could have the app, open the desktop model of Twitter and click on on the icon exhibiting ellipses in a circle. There, you’ll discover “Settings and privacy” then “Security and account access” and at last, “Security.” Here, you may choose “Authentication app” and comply with the directions to set it up. Twitter will ask you to share your electronic mail handle to do that, if in case you have not already.

Once 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.

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