How to keep two-factor authentication on Twitter without paying for Twitter Blue

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - If you use two-factor authentication on your Twitter account, a change is coming. Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk announced that the feature is disappearing on Monday forever unless you pay for it. There’s a way to keep two-factor authentication without spending a dime, and it’s important since two-factor authentication helps protect you from potential scams or fraud.

Before you can log in to a secure site, an app sends you a text with a six-digit code that only you have, and you type it in to verify it’s really you. “Two-factor authentication is the single best thing anybody can do as it pertains to protecting their online accounts,” said Ken Colburn, a tech expert with Data Doctors.

He says two-factor authentication is a must-have for all your accounts. “The single biggest place that you should be using it is your email because your email account is the key to your kingdom,” he said. “That’s where all the password resets for everything else you have gets sent.”

Twitter just announced that it will start charging users eight dollars a month to use two-factor authentication but you can actually set up the feature for free by downloading an authenticator app on your phone or tablet.

There are several to choose from, from companies like Microsoft and Google with one even being built into your iPhone. Just follow the prompts to set it up. So, if you want to pay Twitter eight dollars a month, go ahead. But why, when you can get it for free? “An authenticator app just has a code that it generates, that will be accepted by this by the website so that they know it’s you,” Colburn said. “So it’s basically the code generated by your phone.”

If you’re on the fence about protecting your Twitter account, remember that the support staff of the company has been gutted in the past few months, so if your account is compromised there’s a good chance you’re never getting it back.

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