Want to prove that you are who you say you are on social media? Interested in protecting access to your account? That kind of peace of mind will soon cost you, with Twitter and Meta each rolling out programs that add a price tag to previously free security services.
Are the monthly fees worth it for customers, or is it the social media firms’ bottom lines that benefit most? Tech expert Omar Gallaga says a Twitter restriction on access to two-factor authentication, and Meta’s paid verification program for Facebook and Instagram, seem to be focused on increasing revenue for the struggling tech giants.
Highlights from this segment:
– Twitter users who rely on text message-based two-factor authentication – 2FA – to make their accounts more secure, will need to join the paid Twitter Blue service to keep it. For now, free users can still accomplish 2FA with an authentication app or a hardware key. These options are actually more secure, but very few people use them.
– 2FA protects an account if a Twitter password falls into the wrong hands. Most people don’t use it, and those who do almost all rely on the text message-based version.
– Meta, parent of Instagram and Facebook, will provide checkmarks to verified users who send in proof of identity, and then pay a monthly fee.
