If you didn’t see the big Twitter news this weekend, the folks who run the app decided to place SMS two-factor authentication behind a paywall. This was funny infuriating for a couple of reasons, but one of the arguments I saw from those who seemed fine with this decision is that 2FA SMS can be relatively insecure versus other forms of 2FA (authenticator apps, hardware key, etc.). Ok, if that was the actual argument, then why did Twitter put it behind a paywall and special for only those who pay a monthly fee? The vast, vast majority of 2FA users on Twitter (albeit an extremely low percentage of Twitter users) were utilizing the SMS option, so it’s almost too blatant to put it behind the Twitter Blue fence.
As it turns out, Twitter’s owner is just sick of paying the “fake” text bill each month. I suppose you don’t become one of the world’s richest people by letting $60M/year slide, right?
So that’s what happened this weekend. When Twitter announced this move, because there’s no way in hell that I will ever pay for Twitter Blue, I fired up my Authy app and reenabled 2FA on my account. It was easy enough. It got me wondering, though. What authenticator app do you all use? There is no shortage these days, with popular options the likes of Authy, Google Authenticator, 2FAS, Microsoft Authenticator, and plenty else.
Feel free to share what option you use below and why. I might be missing out on something dope and I always hate that feeling. Back when I used Twitch a lot, I got programmed into thinking Authy was the best choice, but that may or may not be true anymore.
And please, don’t waste your time in the comments accusing me of being an Elon hater. I promise, I really don’t care. 🤷