Twitter limits SMS-based 2FA to Twitter Blue subscribers

The reason behind Twitter's decision to limit SMS-based 2FA to only Twitter Blue subscribers is that the company believes that the method is being abused by bad actors.

By Abhinav Kumar

February 18, 2023 at 7:05 pm

1 minute read

803 comments

Twitter has announced that SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) will be restricted to only Twitter Blue subscribers starting March 20. Two-factor authentication is an additional layer of security over passwords and requires two forms of identification to log in, with the platform asking for an authentication code sent over SMS on top of the password to log in. This ensures that the account remains secure even if the password is stolen. Twitter Blue is a subscription-based service that provides additional features such as an edit tweet button and a blue checkmark.

The reason behind Twitter’s decision to limit SMS-based 2FA to only Twitter Blue subscribers is that the company believes that the method is being abused by bad actors. In a blog post, the company stated that it would no longer allow “accounts to enroll in the text message/SMS method of 2FA unless they are Twitter Blue subscribers.”

Effective March 20, 2023, only Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to use text messages as their two-factor authentication method. Other accounts can use an authentication app or security key for 2FA. Learn more here:https://t.co/wnT9Vuwh5n
— Support (@Support) February 18, 2023

Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, replied ‘yup’ in response to a user’s tweet that the company was changing its policy “because Telcos Used Bot Accounts to Pump 2FA SMS,” and that the company was losing $60 million a year “on scam SMS.” However, it did not provide any further details regarding the issue.

While SMS authentication is being paywalled, two-factor authentication can still be used via an authentication app or a security key. The blog post encourages non-Twitter Blue subscribers to consider using an authentication app or security key method instead, as they require physical possession of the authentication method and are a great way to ensure account security.

This announcement comes at a time when advertisers are pulling back their spending following Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover of the company last year, with spending in December falling by 70%. In India, Twitter Blue is available for a monthly fee of Rs 650 on the web and Rs 900 on mobile devices and offers features like the blue checkmark and an edit tweet button.

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Abhinav Kumar

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Abhinav is an editor at OnlyTech. He is a tech enthusiast who loves to read and write about new things. He spends most of his time tinkering with smartphones or computers when not writing about tech.

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Bapun May 23, 2011 #1

Twitter users yet again bring injunctions under scanner

London, May 22 : The controversy of injunction for celebrities got yet another hike when thousands of people posted messages on Twitter claiming to identify an EPL footballer who is taking legal actions against the site.

The married player, who is referred to as CTB in court documents, is said to have had a 'sexual relationship' with Imogen Thomas, a former contestant on the Big Brother reality TV show.

The legal bid comes after a Twitter user identified a number of people said to have taken out gagging orders, fuelling the privacy debate and highlighting the difficulty of enforcing injunctions. An estimated two million people are believed to have seen the list.

Scores of users were also claiming to identify a woman alleged to have had an affair with former Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin.

Christie-Miller, who sat on a committee headed by Lord Neuberger to review the use of super-injunctions, said the courts and parliament had to work out how to balance privacy with freedom of expression.

"We have a media culture at the moment which is very invasive, a tabloid culture. It's right that many things are published but there has to be a balance between publishing rights and privacy rights," scotsman.com quoted Miller as saying.

--ANI

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N Napster Jun 01, 2011 #2

Twitter Buys Online Ad Company

Twitter, which has made generating ad revenue one of its priorities, has acquired AdGrok, a company whose software is designed to simplify the creation and management of campaigns using Google's AdWords search advertising service.As of Tuesday AdGrok has stopped accepting new customers. It will shut down its AdWords management business and wipe out its servers by June 30, focusing entirely on enhancing Twitter's online advertising technology.

"On June 30th, we will also unlink all customers from the AdGrok Google accounts and securely delete our databases. Performance data and campaign structures from AdGrok customers will not be shared with Twitter," the company wrote in a blog post.

Based in San Francisco, AdGrok was founded last year and was backed financially by early-stage investment company Y Combinator.

The AdGrok technology will likely find its way into Twitter's Promoted Tweets ad service, which is similar in concept to Google's AdWords. Promoted Tweets are Twitter posts crafted for advertising that appear in Twitter search results when they contain a search query keyword. Advertisers pay Twitter for Promoted Tweets when end users perform a specific action as a result of the post, such as clicking on it, re-tweeting it, replying to it or labeling it as a "favorite."