Let’s be real: Some forms of online security are a pain in the ass. That doesn’t, however, mean they aren’t necessary.
On Wednesday, Twitter announced a change that will make properly securing accounts, and using those secured Twitter accounts on mobile devices, significantly more convenient. Going forward, people who have chosen to lock down their Twitter accounts with security keys will be able to use those keys to log in via Android or iOS.
This update is an important one, because it means people worried about hackers targeting their Twitter accounts — think high follower-counts valuable for promoting cryptocurrency scams — can now use the most rigorous form of account protection while still easily accessing Twitter on their phones. Previously, the only way to use a security key for login verification was on twitter.com.
“Protecting your account on all of your devices is important,” read Twitter’s Wednesday announcement. “We’ve updated two-factor authentication so you can now log in with your physical security key on Android and iOS, like on desktop.”
Protecting your account on all of your devices is important. We’ve updated two-factor authentication so you can now log in with your physical security key on Android and iOS, like on desktop. More on how to set up this added security for your account: https://t.co/c7hff75zQd
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) December 2, 2020
Notably, you can still only add a security key to your account on desktop. But, once you’ve done so, Wednesday’s update means you are no longer forever destined to access your account via desktop.
Of course, you don’t need a physical security key to add multi-factor authentication to your Twitter account. If you have a smartphone, you can secure your account with an authenticator app (which you really should do).
For those wanting to take a few extra steps to ensure their Twitter account stays under their control, while still being able to easily use that account on mobile, Wednesday’s announcement will come as welcome news.
SEE ALSO: Twitter hack shows need for cybersecurity regulations, government report says
The natural conflict between convenience and properly protecting important online accounts is at least a partial driver for terrible security practices; think common mistakes, like reusing passwords across accounts, or making passwords easy for hackers to guess. And while Wednesday’s announcement from Twitter isn’t going to fundamentally change that tradeoff, fingers crossed it will make it easier for people to make the secure decision.
Because we all know what a huge mess hacked Twitter accounts can cause.