Twitter seems to be an easy target for hackers. In late 2019, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account was hacked and then used to send out racist and anti-Semitic retweets. In a strange turn of events that could only happen in topsy-turvy 2020, Twitter’s competitor, Facebook, had their Twitter account taken over by a hacker group called OurMine in February. More recently, dozens of major Twitter accounts were hacked in massive Bitcoin scam. That’s only a few of the more high-profile hackings.
This news could leave a devout Twitter user a little nervous. Though there’s no foolproof way to keep hackers at bay, you can make your account much more secure. Here’s how to secure your Twitter account.
First, let’s tackle the easiest step: Perfecting your password. Change your password so that it’s different from any other password you use, and make it as random as possible with capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. Also, make your password long. Twitter recommends a password that is at least 10 characters long. If trying to remember a whacky password scares you, get a good password manager to safely store all of your passwords.
Once you have a great password, make sure it can’t be easily changed — select options that require your email address or phone number before a change can be made. Here’s how to set this security feature up:
Next, set up your account to use two-factor authentication. This security measure makes it so your account can only be accessed if you enter your password and a code or a security key to confirm your identity.
While the steps above will keep your account secure from most hackers, there are a few more things you should remember. If your computer has a virus, a hacker may be able to use it to access your account. Be sure to use up-to-date malware protection on your computer to help prevent this type of hack. When you combine all of these tips together, your Twitter account should be very safe from any would-be hackers.
You just opened X and started typing your thoughts. Imagine the jump scare when a hand suddenly pops up on your screen, pointing at the promote button. It doesn’t say a word and simply points. For a growing number of X users, this isn’t a made-up scenario but something they have been seeing since yesterday, and very few of them are amused.
Most of us have learned to tune out the usual in-app upsells, whether it’s a glowing upgrade banner or a pop-up about a premium plan. A floating hand hovering over your draft is much harder to ignore, and that’s probably the whole point.
Scroll through any app for five minutes, and you’ll find someone maxxing something. Their skin, their sleep, their protein intake, even their Friday night on the couch. That little suffix has been everywhere this year, and now it has a trophy to show for it. In a recent announcement, Dictionary.com named maxxing its 2026 Word of the Year.
What are people actually doing when they’re maxxing?
Instagram is testing a new format for long-form videos called Features. It allows select creators to upload horizontal videos running up to 90 minutes long. Instagram has already tested the new format with creators in Brazil, and now, it's expanding to tens of thousands of creators across the US.
How will Instagram's new Features format work?