Four hours ago, Platform gameby Zoe Schiffer tweeted a scoop: Twitter would charge for two-factor authentication via SMS.

Now it’s official: You have to pay for the privilege of using Twitter’s worst form of authentication. If you don’t start paying for Twitter Blue ($8 per month on Android; $11 per month on iOS) or change your account to use a much more reliable authenticator app or physical security key, Twitter will simply turn off your 2FA after March 20.

I know which one I would choose.

That’s how Twitter is trying to justify this change, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a simpler reason: it costs money to send text messages, and Twitter doesn’t have a lot of money right now. The company was already phasing out SMS before Elon Musk took over.