Twitter To Start Charging Users For SMS Two-factor Authentication

Starting March 20, Twitter users who rely on the site’s SMS two-factor authentication to secure their accounts will need to pay for the service. Failure to do so may result in the loss of access to this security method.

Twitter’s new policy was first revealed by Platformer’s Zoe Schiffer in a tweet and hours later the microblogging social website officially confirmed the move saying, “only Twitter Blue subscribers will be able to use text messages as their two-factor authentication method.”

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

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 18, 2023

Twitter notes that non-Twitter Blue subscribers have 30 days to disable this SMS two-factor authentication method and enroll in another method. “Other accounts can use an authentication app or security key for 2FA,” Twitter said in a tweet.

“After March 20, we will no longer permit non-Twitter Blue subscribers to use text messages as a 2FA method. At that time, accounts with text message 2FA still enabled will have it disabled,” the company said in a blog post.

Two-factor authentication provides an extra layer of security beyond passwords by requiring two forms of identification for login. In addition to entering the password, the platform also requires an authentication code sent via SMS to complete the login process.

Placing 2FA behind a paywall is Twitter’s attempt to attract more subscribers to Twitter Blue in response to decreased advertiser spending following Elon Musk’s $44 billion acquisition of the company in October last year.

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