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LOS ANGELES (AP) — 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.

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The message stated that beginning March 19, customers who don’t subscribe will likely be locked out of their accounts till they take away the safety characteristic.

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Listed 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 telephone quantity the place you possibly can obtain the code.

Such codes might 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.

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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 common with its customers, however stated the characteristic is being “used — and abused — by dangerous actors.”

The corporate didn’t reply early Saturday to an e-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 method to maximize income on the firm.

A kind of 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 aren’t going to subscribe to Twitter Blue to think about using different account safety choices, particularly an authentication app or safety key.

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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, transportable 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 an alternative of a separate bodily gadget, the app is in your telephone.

To arrange an authentication app to safe your Twitter account, you have to to obtain certainly one of a variety of obtainable purposes to your gadget. They’re free within the Apple or Android app shops. When you’d somewhat not use Google or Microsoft Authenticator, there are different choices, together with Authy, Duo Cell and 1Password.

After getting the app, open the desktop model of Twitter and click on on the icon displaying ellipses in a circle. There, you’ll discover “Settings and privateness” then “Safety and account entry” and at last, “Safety.” Right here, you possibly can choose “Authentication app” and comply with the directions to set it up. Twitter will ask you to share your e-mail tackle to do that, when you have not already.

As soon as you might be all set, you should utilize the auto-generated numeric codes out of your authentication app so as to add an additional layer of safety when logging into Twitter.