Tumblr locks up with two-stage authentication

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Yahoo-owned Tumblr has added a new security feature to its service, bolstering the protection of its users with two-factor authentication. The new security feature can be accessed through the website's settings section.

The new system will add two stages to verifying any user's identity, adding an extra layer on top of the quintessential username and password.

Tumblr, as announced in a blog post, will be using codes tied to mobile phones as their second authentication method, with users receiving codes by text or through an app.

The company has joined with a number of other big names in tech, including Google, LinkenIn, Facebook and Twitter, of which most offer two-factor authentication.

Secure or annoying?

Users will be automatically less vulnerable to attacks and hackers, as any potential criminal would have to have both the username details and physical access to an authorised phone.

Whether the new measures will be welcome by the community on Tumblr is yet to be seen. Traditionally extra steps on sign-in screens have been cited as tiresome and repetitive to websites using them.

"The smile of a loved one. Your childhood blanket. A handsome bodyguard to take you in his arms," Tumblr wrote. "'Security' can mean a lot of things in this crazy life, but nothing says 'security' like Tumblr's two-factor authentication."

Tumblr was acquired last year by Yahoo in what was the company's first big purchase with Marissa Mayer at the helm.