Twitter Adds Two-Factor Authentication Option for User Accounts
Twitter just announced via its blog that it has implemented two-factor authentication for user accounts. The new login verification system (what Twitter is calling it), is easy to setup and will hopefully help prevent more accounts from being hijacked in the future (provided the account has this new feature enabled). This is a much needed security move by Twitter which has been plagued recently by accounts being hacked and compromised.
If you want to turn on login verification you need to provide Twitter with your cell phone number and a valid email address. Once you enter those details, follow the steps below to enable login verification on Twitter.
- Visit your account settings page.
- Select “Require a verification code when I sign in.”
- Click on the link to “add a phone” and follow the prompts.
- After you enroll in login verification, you’ll be asked to enter a six-digit code that we send to your phone via SMS each time you sign in to twitter.com.
It’s worth noting that with login verification enabled, your existing applications (e.g. Tweetbot) will continue to work without disruption. However, if you need to sign in to your Twitter account on other devices or apps, you will be required to visit your applications page to generate a temporary password to login and authorize that application.
Twitter has also created a video detailing how to enable login verification and showing how it works once enabled.