Gaming live-stream site Twitch just got a little more secure.
Twitch users who want to enhance their security can now enable two-factor authentication, the company announced Monday. Once the feature is enabled, users will be required not only to provide their passwords but also an activation code sent to their mobile phones when logging in.
Amazon-owned Twitch lets gamers record their playing sessions and share them with others. The service has over 100 million members, and is running on everything from consoles to PCs. As e-sports has exploded, Twitch has become one of the go-to destinations for gamers to check out the latest titles and see how some of the better players around the world work their way through a game.
The addition of two-factor authentication comes just months after Twitch warned users of a possible data breach. The company provided few details at the time, but said that at least some user information, including email addresses and perhaps even phone numbers, may have been stolen. The company immediately reset all user passwords as a precaution.
With two-factor authentication, however, anyone who gained access to a Twitch user's login details would also need to have their cell phone to actually sign into an account.
You can receive your Twitch authentication code via text message or Authy, which can send you a code via push notification rather than text. "Authy allows you to bypass [text message-related] fees and manage all your two-factor authenticated sites in one place."
Twitch says two-factor authentication is "100 percent voluntary," and is simply a way to add "some additional protection" to the platform.