Facebook has become so ingrained in our lives that even a massive controversy like Cambridge Analytica collecting our data won’t stop hundreds of millions of people from logging in every day. At the very least, it might force Facebook to take the security of our data more seriously though, which is exactly what the company appears to have done this week by making it easier for users to enable two-factor authentication — a vital security measure.
Two-factor authentication has been an option on Facebook for years, but this Wednesday, the company shared two ways in which it is improving the system to make it easier for everyone to use, no matter their situation:
- We’ve made it easier than ever to enable two-factor authentication with a streamlined setup flow that guides you through the process.
- We’ve also expanded the ways in which you can secure your account with a second factor by ensuring that people can enable two-factor authentication without registering a phone number.
“We previously required a phone number in order to set up two-factor authentication, to help prevent account lock-outs,” Facebook’s Scott Dickens said in a blog post. “Now that we have redesigned the feature to make the process easier to use third-party authentication apps like Google Authenticator and Duo Security on both desktop and mobile, we are no longer making the phone number mandatory.”
If you want to activate two-factor authentication on your account (which you absolutely should, by the way), all you have to do is head to https://www.facebook.com/settings, click the Security and Login tab on the right side, and you’ll see an option to Set up two-factor authentication at the top of the page.
