This new feature will take Twitter’s security to next level

Twitter now supports a USB security key, called Yubikey as a part of two-factor authentication making it more difficult for hackers to breach the account. This means that you can open your Twitter account with that physical/USB key instead of a code sent to your phone.

On 26th June, Twitter announced that a compatible physical key can be plugged into your computer or use NFC to communicate with your phone. A security key is a small physical device that is used to verify an attempted login.

Once connected with your phone or computer, it works as an additional factor of authentication for logins that require extra security. Unless someone has access to that USB key, they won’t be able to open your account. Twitter said that in order to set up a physical two-factor key security, that user’s account must have a verified mobile phone number.

“This is an important change to defend against people who try to take advantage of our openness,” said Twitter.

These efforts on behalf of Twitter are meant to improve security and privacy by using machine learning algorithms to automatically reduce malicious bots and spam across the site. The move came from social media platform weeks after its announcement of urging more than 330 million users to change their passwords after a bug.

Twitter has rolled out the new two-factor security verification on 26th June. Anyone with the setting enabled can use its support page to set up the new login verification setting.

However, the social networking giant isn’t the first company to roll out universal two-factor protections to its users. Google first made headlines by introducing the feature as part of its Advanced Protection Program, which helps protect against government-backed hackers.