Twitter to start charging for SMS two-factor authentication

Platformer's Zoe Schiffer tweeted a scoop a few hours ago: Twitter would begin charging for SMS two-factor authentication.

Now it's confirmed: you have to pay for using Twitter's worst form of authentication. In fact, if you don't pay for Twitter Blue ($8/mo on Android; $11/mo on iOS) or switch your account to use a much more reliable authenticator app or physical security key, Twitter will disable your 2FA after March 20.

Few users feel like ditching SMS, given how common SIM-swapping hacks are these days. Heck, Twitter's own Jack Dorsey was successfully hacked by the technique four years ago. He doesn't want someone gaining access to his accounts by proving it's you just because your phone number was stolen.

This is how Twitter is trying to justify this change as well, but we wouldn't be surprised if there's a simpler reason: it costs money to send SMS messages, and Twitter doesn't have a lot of money right now. The company had been removing SMS even before Elon Musk took over.