Twitter via SMS service discontinued over security concerns

Twitter has turned off its ‘Twitter via SMS service’ in several countries after it found some serious vulnerabilities.

Twitter’s Support team announced the discontinuation of the SMS service. The tweet, however, mentions that Twitter via SMS service can still be accessed in a few countries. Users will continue to have access to important SMS messages needed to log in to and manage their accounts. This mainly includes the One-Time Password (OTP) for two-step verification. 

We want to continue to help keep your account safe. We’ve seen vulnerabilities with SMS, so we’ve turned off our Twitter via SMS service, except for a few countries.

Everyone will still have access to important SMS messages needed to log in to and manage their accounts.

— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) April 27, 2020

The micro-blogging site has urged users who still use Twitter via SMS service to download the Twitter app to receive notifications on their smartphones.

When it was launched, Twitter used to allow users to send or receive tweets via SMS. However, as years passed, Twitter developed its web, mobile and desktop apps that are being widely used by millions of users today.

Last year, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked after he fell victim to the "SIM swap" fraud, which enables a hacker to trick a mobile carrier into transferring a number -- potentially causing people to lose control not only of social media but bank accounts and other sensitive information.

This type of attack targets a weakness in the use of "two-factor authentication" via text message to validate access to an account, a break-in method that has grown popular in recent years.

The company had, then, temporarily suspended the service to fix the vulnerabilities that led to Dorsey’s account getting hacked.