New Delhi: Facebook seemed to have been locking people out of their accounts over the non-activation of the Facebook Protect feature while several other Facebook users could not log in even if they turned the feature on due to an apparent glitch in Facebook's two-factor authentication system.
"Turn on Facebook Protect to unlock your account," the notification says. "Account locked on March 17, 2022. We've taken this precaution to keep your account secure while you enable additional security measures," the notification adds.
According to a report published in CNET, some Facebook users who had enabled the Facebook Protect feature measure still found themselves locked out of their accounts and some others were experiencing issues in getting a security code sent to their phones. Earlier in December 2021, Facebook had announced expanding Facebook Protect as part of its improvements to security. It is a programme designed for people that are likely to be highly targeted by malicious hackers, including human rights defenders, journalists, and government officials.
Facebook Protect helps these groups of people adopt stronger account security protections, like two-factor authentication, and monitors for potential hacking threats. First tested in 2018 and expanded ahead of the 2020 US election, the feature's global expansion began in September 2021. Since then, more than 1.5 million accounts have enabled Facebook Protect, and of those, nearly 950K accounts newly enrolled in two-factor authentication, Facebook had said.
Two-factor authentication, particularly by using third-party authentication apps, significantly improves the security of your online accounts.