Twitter Is Trying To Destroy Itself

Since years, bots have tried to take my Twitter account over.

I’m not really sure why. Almost once a day or more, a request comes in by text to authenticate my account, even though I’m not trying to login.

It’s either a bot or a hacker I’m sure, someone (or Something) that has correctly guessed my password but, thankfully, can’t access my account because they don’t have the authentication code.

That’s all about to change in only a few short weeks.

Twitter is forcing users to pay by text for 2-factor authentication, or 2FA. This is the most outrageous thing that the company has done recently.

It’s lame even compared to all of the either lame things the social media firm has tried recently. You will need to either pay for Twitter Blue, or use another method to authenticate such as an intermediary application.

Here’s the problem with this “revenue” strategy.

For me, it’s not worth the time or the money. I rely on two-factor authentication to keep my account safe, but I’m not that interested in using another app. It is not difficult to send me a code by text, although it can be time-consuming. To authenticate, I like the text messages right from my Mac. More importantly, it’s ridiculous to force users to upgrade to use a service that has always been free.

I’m trying to figure out why I would pay Twitter to make sure hackers can’t break into my account. I’ve already determined the other Twitter Blue benefits are not worthwhile. These apps are an example of how social media is a time-waster and doesn’t offer enough value to justify spending actual money.

More and more, I’m seeing ads and “sponsored content” show up in my feed, so in some ways, I’d be paying to see more ads.

Here, the answer is to go in the opposite direction.

My goal is to receive more services and benefits, not just the ability to even look at advertisements. This is an opportunity to make us want to use social media apps, but not with the perks or new features that we don’t expect to stop us abandoning them altogether.

One, it’s just too many amazing apps, as well as too many different ways to connect and communicate with other people. If WhatsApp is safer and provides a way to communicate with others quickly and efficiently, and doesn’t charge me for the privilege, why would I even bother with Twitter? You can still access the content even if you disconnect your account. Many Twitter clones are available these days and will provide me with 2FA at no cost.

This leaves me at an impasse.

I haven’t decided what to do, because I already disabled Twitter Blue after realizing it provided no value. I don’t really want to sign-up again to that service again, but I don’t really want to use an app to authenticate. Which is funny, because this could mean I can’t use Twitter then. It’s not like I want to get hacked. But I also don’t want to pay the company so I don’t get hacked.

I’m curious if you are in the same dilemma, so drop a note on my Twitter feed by tagging @johnbrandonmnLet me know if the protection is going to be paid for.