Twitter disables 'tweet via SMS' feature due to text message vulnerability

Twitter has disabled its ‘tweet via SMS’ feature in most countries due to security reasons. The feature has been with the micro blogging site since its inception. However, with the proliferation of affordable smartphones and cheaper internet services, it lost its utility. Moreover, there have been vulnerabilities associated with text messaging service for tweets.

"We want to continue to help keep your account safe. We have seen vulnerabilities with SMS, so we have turned off our Twitter via SMS service, except for a few countries," said the micro-blogging platform in a tweet.

There are not many people who use this feature which is with Twitter since the very beginning but there were some complaints from people who still used SMS to read tweets.

The tweet via SMS feature was launched with Twitter's original 140-character limit.

The company said in another tweet: "If you were using Twitter via SMS, you can log in at https://twitter.com or download our mobile app to enjoy the full Twitter experience".

In September last year, Twitter said that it was temporarily turning off the ability to Tweet via SMS, or text message, to protect people's accounts.

"We're taking this step because of vulnerabilities that need to be addressed by mobile carriers and our reliance on having a linked phone number for two-factor authentication (we're working on improving this)," it added.