Facebook won't require a phone number for two-factor authentication

[fahad.faisal]

ne good thing to come from Facebook's government scrutiny is that the social network makes an advancement in security, it's very loud about the fact. Today Facebook announced that protecting your account via two-factor authentication is getting easier. In a blog post, Scott Dickens of the social network's security team said that now you can use Google Authenticator and Duo Security to prevent unauthorized logins. You'll still be able to use your phone number for code delivery, of course, it's just that now you have a few more options beyond that. If you're traveling abroad and forget to write down any recovery codes in advance, this should make life a little less stressful.

Earlier this year Facebook came under fire for spamming users with two-factor authentication codes. The social network said that was a bug. Previously, Facebook offered USB keys as a workaround for authentication. As Wired notes, the new feature has been quietly rolling out to users for a few months, and now it's available for most account holders.

Just hit the settings menu on your Facebook homepage to get started. Account security: it's always in season.

Source: Facebook

[Abdus Sattar]

good to know this.