Facebook users who want supernumerary story security but do n’t require to share their phone number with the company can now lock down their account with alternative two - factor assay-mark methods like code - generating apps , Facebook announced today .
Two - factor authentication helps protect users ’ account from wildcat admission by requiring a code in plus to a password in club to enter . This help a user prove their identity , even in circumstances where their password may be stolen by a hacker .
Facebook — and many other platforms — have traditionally trust on text messaging to post authentication codification to their drug user . But these codes can be stop if an attacker make out totake command of the user ’s SIMand transfer it to a new earpiece . More secure two - factor authentication method acting , like codification - generator apps and hardware tokens , have become popular ways to address this problem .
In February , Facebook facedbacklash from userswho discovered that the earphone number they ’d leave for two - factor authentication was being used to spam them with texted telling about their friends ’ activity on Facebook .
Facebook say the text notifications were due to an unintentional microbe . “ The last thing we desire is for people to forefend helpful security features because they fear they will get unrelated notifications , ” Facebook ’s principal security officer , Alex Stamos , wrote in ablog post .
Users resented having a security shaft turned into an annoying interlocking feature , but at the sentence , Facebook take users who did n’t need to cater a number for two - factor authentication to use both a code - source app and a computer hardware tokenish .
Now , that ’s changing , Facebook says . The company will no longer require a earpiece number for two - constituent authentication , and users can choose either an app or a hardware token for their second broker , rather than both .
“ If we detect a suspicious login — for example , from a equipment you ’ve never used before — we’ll always instigate you for the second factor . This codification can be sent to your phone via SMS , or , if you choose to not allow for a telephone number , a third - party authentication app , ” Facebook enunciate in ablog post .
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