In a world of increasing cyberattack cases, two-factor authentication systems are increasingly becoming popular. While Google is said to default to a 2FA system for all account logins, Facebook-owned Instagram is working on the same. A recent leak reveals Instagram’s plan to adopt 2FA system but with a slight twist – it will rely on WhatsApp instead of regular text messaging.
It is indeed surprising to see WhatsApp being used as a medium for a 2FA system, especially given the platform rocky record of user privacy and security. However, it could benefit users as WhatsApp is often one of the most reliable ways to get messages – all it needs is an internet connection. Moreover, if you trust the end-to-end encryption of the platform, then WhatsApp seems to be a wise choice for Instagram.
Insta users will get 2FA codes on WhatsApp
It is in the grand scheme of things for Facebook to unify Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp going forward. These platforms have often been found sharing features, the most crucial one being stories. The addition of security integration with WhatsApp seems to be the next step.
#Instagram is working on the possibility of receiving authentication codes (2FA) on #WhatsApp 👀 pic.twitter.com/OeNwHZRArm
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) May 22, 2021
Instagram is yet to reveal the feature officially and the information currently comes from tipster Alessandro Paluzzi. In his tweet, Paluzzi shares screenshots of the upcoming feature within the Instagram app. The feature stresses on the fact that the service seeks your phone number only for getting the codes and WhatsApp won’t store any of the user data. Users will also need to enable the SMS-based option, reveals the tweet.
Enabling the 2FA system is said to greatly enhance the account security against hackers and malicious software. With 2FA, users will now need to provide their Insta ID and password, following which the service will send a One-Time Password (OTP) to the verified phone number. Hence, even if an account is accessed by a hacker, a second OTP code from the verified number needs to be provided.
Will it actually make any difference for Insta users? You will have to wait and see. Instagram is facing a lot of criticism from the US attorneys after it revealed its plans to create a different version of Instagram for Kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment