Category: two factor authentication

Facebook is in hot water once again for how it is using the phone number users may have only provided to Facebook for security reasons. 

On Twitter on Friday, Jeremy Burge, the editor of Emojipedia, called out Facebook for its phone number lookup settings. Burge found that there is no way to entirely opt out of this setting, which governs the ability of other users to find your Facebook profile by entering your phone number in search. The best you can do is limit who can do this to “Friends.” 

What’s potentially most concerning is that some people may have only given Facebook their phone numbers to enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). That is, they gave their phone number to Facebook for security, and Facebook continues to prove that it’s using that number for much more. Read more…

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View More Disabling this Facebook phone number setting is not an option

Take a deep breath. Facebook just did something good.

The company announced in a May 23 blog post that it would no longer require a phone number to set up two-factor authentication, and would instead allow for the use of an authenticator app. Such apps, like Google Authenticator, are widely acknowledged to be an improvement over SMS-based 2FA.

For those unfamiliar, two-factor authentication provides a second layer of security to online accounts. In addition to the standard password, you need a second factor — usually a number texted to your cellphone or generated by an authenticator app —to login. For those who worry about phishing attempts or any kind of hacking (which should be everyone on the internet), setting up 2FA is a must.  Read more…

More about Facebook, Two Factor Authentication, 2fa, Tech, and Social Media Companies

View More Facebook finally stops screwing around with two-factor authentication