• By Vikas Yadav
  • Sun, 23 Apr 2023 04:40 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

POPULAR micro-blogging site Twitter has been swaying headlines in the media for a while now. It recently started winding down blue ticks dispersed via the old verification program. On the other hand, the platform has been pushing new features in its Twitter Blue basket and taking away the same from free users.

Here is a list of features that are no longer available to free users on the platform.

SMS-based two-factor authentication

Elon Musk-led Twitter seized this feature for free subscribers last month. The feature allowed an extra layer of security over passwords to accounts. In the old scheme, a user could login to Twitter on another device by entering the username and the password followed by an SMS code. This functionality is now exclusive to Blue subscribers.

"While historically a popular form of 2FA, unfortunately we have seen phone-number based 2FA be used - and abused - by bad actors." the company stated in a February 15 blog.

Also Read: Elon Musk Will Organise Subscriber-Exclusive 'Ask-Me-Anything'; Once Every Few Weeks On Twitter

Voting in Twitter Polls

Elon Musk, on March 28, tweeted that "Voting in polls will require verification" from April 15. The reason stated was to curb the menace of AI bots on the platform.

But this remains unclear if this restricts to all polls or only the ones posted by Blue subscribers, according to GadgetsNow.

Limited reach on "For You"

In the same tweet, the Tesla CEO added that verified accounts would only be eligible to appear in the "For You" recommendations. This implies reach of free users could only remain limited to their followers in the particular tab.

Further, in the latest move, Twitter has started winding down legacy verified checkmarks from users verified in the old scheme. However, this does not apply to all legacy users.

Meanwhile, Twitter Blue is a paid subscription to widen the revenue horizons for the micro-blogging app and offer extra features to its subscribers. The plan packs features like editable tweets, fewer ads, longer tweets, text formatting, themes, and more. For more context, these changes have become more rampant since Elon Musk took over charge of the platform after the theatrical deal last year.