Business & Tech

Elon Musk Explains Twitter’s Decision to Move Text Message 2FA to Twitter Blue

Published

2 years ago

February 18, 2023

Utilizing text messaging to receive two factor authentication codes is a popular method accross social media platforms, but on Saturday, Twitter Support announced that for Twitter users, the option would only be available to 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— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) February 18, 2023

Musk quoted the tweet with additional information to help users:

Use of free authentication apps for 2FA will remain free and are much more secure than SMS https://t.co/pFMdxWPlai— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2023

Many were unhappy at the news, and some called out the decision, saying it would be bad for business.

Rule #1: Never charge for something that was previously free https://t.co/abRu87zf7x— Marques Brownlee (@MKBHD) February 18, 2023

Musk explained that phone companies scam Twitter out of SIX MILLION each year.

Twitter is getting scammed by phone companies for $60M/year of fake 2FA SMS messages— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2023

The Twitter CEO also highlighted the safety incentive for users to stay away from text message 2fa.

Using an authenticator app is much more secure— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2023

Another good reason to phase it out— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 18, 2023

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Tim Young is the Editor In Chief of National Mouth. He’s a comedian, commentator and author whose work has been featured and noted by major publications over the last two decades. He specializes in bourbon, cigars, pop culture, and in his own words, "politics, unfortunately."

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Elon Musk Explains Twitter’s Decision to Move Text Message 2FA to Twitter Blue

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