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New accounts without an associated phone number tend to face a lock & challenge, for "suspicious activity" (even if they've never posted), which can only be rev
by gojomo 7y ago
New accounts without an associated phone number tend to face a lock & challenge, for "suspicious activity" (even if they've never posted), which can only be reversed by adding a phone number.
So, Twitter is de facto requiring phone numbers on many more accounts than the initial sign-up flow might indicate – to the detriment of user privacy, & increasing the damage of compromises like this one.
- tialaramex 7y agoNote that activities which are potentially suspicious aren't just about posting, it includes following people, because that makes their follower count go up, and the whole point of displaying that count is most people want to appear popular - and so of course people create bogus followers. I agree that Twitter using this to get people to give them PII those don't want Twitter to have, especially when Twitter aren't a good custodian of that PII is terrible, but it's not as though Twitter's other option (anybody can mint a thousand bogus Twitter followers with no pushback from Twitter) looks great either.
- gojomo 7y agoYes, Twitter now considers everything "suspicious", including the minimal steps required to use Twitter as a logged-in account at all, like "following people" (even just a few). And thus, Twitter more-or-less requires phone numbers from everyone. This increases the risk that Twitter's users will be "doxxed" – and even, when those users anger certain large violent organizations, the risk they'll be assassinated.
- jammygit 7y agoI never used twitter until last year when I made an account. They flagged me for following 5 people and liking some posts, locked me out, and notified me that any attempts to send support a request would be ignored. I can’t even log in or contact anyone to delete the account. I guess the future is to be given the middle finger so eagerly by bad ai all the time
- itronitron 7y agoIf using the application for its intended purpose makes your account seem not-human, just who or what did they design the application for?
- Eli_P 7y agoFor entities whose behavior fit their model, it's called negative selection[1], a mandatory attribute of emerging dictatorship. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_selection_(politics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_selection_(politics)
- retox 7y agoMy account (created without entering a phone number) was locked immediately after logging in the first time, from the same IP I signed up with, without performing any actions. This was over 12 months ago.
- 80386 7y ago> I agree that Twitter using this to get people to give them PII those don't want Twitter to have, especially when Twitter aren't a good custodian of that PII is terrible, but it's not as though Twitter's other option (anybody can mint a thousand bogus Twitter followers with no pushback from Twitter) looks great either. Third option: don't display follower counts.
- JaRail 7y agoHiding counts makes it hard to identify imposter accounts and bots. Users need to be able to see account age and counts at a minimum.