Twitter Update: Improved Security Features

Two major updates centered around providing better security for Twitter users. Hurrah!

Update #1: OAuth Requirement

OAuth, short for Open Authorization, is a protocol that enables users to grant access to their accounts, without giving their usernames and passwords. It can also be used to grant limited access only.

All third-party apps are now required to use OAuth, rather than asking for a username and password.

A list of the apps that have access to your account can be found at http://twitter.com/settings/connections. From here you can also revoke access to your account.

What this means:

By requiring OAuth, your password will not be given to, or be stored by these applications.

Update #2: Standardized URL Shortening

Twitter's link wrapping / URL shortening service t.co will be in full effect for all links found in tweets by the end of the year. You may begin to see them already for a select number of accounts.

Twitter Help Center:

A link converted by Twitter's link service [t.co] is checked against a list of potentially dangerous sites. When there's a match, users can be warned before they continue.

t.co Warning

What this means:

By wrapping all links via t.co, the chances of clicking through to a malicious website is reduced.

Both of these new features will benefit the Twitter community in terms of security. This is a welcomed update given the number of new users joining Twitter every day.

Written by Shockley Au

Shockley is a digital marketer who helps businesses succeed in online media, through PPC, SEO, Social Media, and Web Analytics. He is qualified in both Google Analytics and Google AdWords.

Follow him on Twitter @ShockleyAu.

Shockley Au