How to enable two-factor authentication for Facebook

The way most of us log into our online social media accounts like Facebook is through a username and password. This is a system that has been around pretty much from the start, but it’s not a perfect one.

With people opting to use easy-to-remember passwords and reusing passwords for various accounts, sometimes hackers don’t even need to work that hard to break into your account.

This is where two-factor authentication comes in, where the additional layer of verification helps prevent hackers from accessing your accounts even in the event that they know your username and password.

With there being so many instances of people losing access to their social media accounts, it’s not a bad idea to turn on two-factor authentication for Facebook, and if you’re wondering how to go about doing it, here’s what you need to know.

Turn on two-factor authentication for Facebook

1. Go to your Facebook Security and Login page
2. Look for the Two-factor authentication head on the right of the page
3. Under “Use two-factor authentication”, click on Edit
4. You’ll be prompted to enter your password to verify yourself even if you’re already logged in
5. You can now choose how you want to receive/generate your one-time passcodes. This can be done using a third-party authentication app, SMS, a security key (like Google Titan), or using recovery codes
6. Choose whichever method you prefer and follow the instructions to complete the setup process and you’re done

Now what happens whenever you try to log into your Facebook account from a new computer, smartphone, tablet, or browser, you’ll have to enter your normal login credentials followed by a OTP generated and sent from whichever method you had previously chosen.