Twitter removes a feature it had used since the beginning and deletes millions of old inactive accounts

In recent months, cybersecurity has become more important than ever while we are all relying on technology and social media for communication and work. Twitter has decided to get rid of a feature that was present from the beginning of the platform’s existence for the sake of offering better cybersecurity.

The Independent reports that Twitter has decided to remove the feature to deliver tweets via SMS because it does not offer sufficient security. Last year, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked via the service allowing people to tweet via SMS and that possibility was disabled, and now people will not be able to receive tweets via SMS messages either.

After last year’s hack of Dorsey’s Twitter account, new vulnerabilities, related to the SMS feature, have been discovered and now the service has been disabled for most countries. The feature will remain live only for countries that rely on it to use Twitter due to a poor internet connection. Additionally, the company stated that important notifications related to logging in or managing Twitter accounts, delivered via SMS, will still be accessible and functional.

What’s more, Twitter has reportedly deleted millions of inactive accounts that were created via SMS, as the company considered them to be insecure and vulnerable to being compromised. The statement by Twitter added that due to the removal of some accounts, people may see a drop in their follower count, but this is reportedly done to assure the follower count is as accurate and meaningful as it can be.