As of next month, Twitter won’t support SMS-based two-factor authentication (2FA) for users yet to subscribe to Twitter Blue. This was announced on Wednesday via the Microblogging website. Twitter has given freemium users until March 20 to disable text-based login authentication codes on their accounts. The result of this is that several users need to subscribe to Twitter Blue in order to receive SMS codes that protect their accounts. For those who do not want to subscribe, Twitter will continue to support alternative 2FA methods at no extra cost. 

The microblogging service explained that SMS-based 2FA is being discontinued because the phone-number mechanism had been misused by “bad actors,” but the microblogging service’s post also says subscribers to Twitter Blue may be able to access the feature “depending on their country and carrier.”

Suppose you don’t want to pay Twitter a hefty monthly fee. In that case, Twitter Blue costs up to #5000 a month in Nigeria — for SMS-based two-factor authentication to protect your account, you can switch to a more secure option to protect your account via authentication apps. You can download apps like Authy, Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and the open-source Aegis Authenticator before following the steps below.

How to enable app-based two-factor authentication using third-party apps.

1. Visit the settings section on the Twitter website on your computer.
2. Click on Security and account access > Security > Two-factor authentication.
3. Disable the Text message option, if it is enabled on your account.
4. Now select Authentication app > Get started.
5. Open the authentication app that you downloaded, and scan the QR code displayed on the Twitter website.
6. Enter the six-digit numeric code displayed on your authentication app to confirm the setup process.