First of all, good job on implementing non-Authy, non-SMS 2FA!

That being said, there's still a major hole in your 2FA implementation, and that's requiring a user to set up SMS authentication before they can set up other forms of 2FA. Unless I've missed something huge, whenever I try to set up 2FA on Twitch, I get directed to put in my phone number first. There's no prompt I can use to skip this step.

This is completely counter to how a lot of other sites do 2FA, where SMS authentication is an option, not a requirement. You can completely ignore SMS authentication and just use a standard TOTP code to set up Google Authenticator, etc. I would like to see Twitch adopt this practice as well: instead of requiring us to put in our phone number first, please just give us a list of 2FA options and let us pick a method without requiring the others. Or at least give us the option to set up SMS, set up an alternate 2FA method, and then remove SMS afterwards.

Not requiring SMS is important for several reasons:

• It's one of the most insecure forms of 2FA. Relatively speaking, it's significantly easier to intercept a SMS or gain control of someone's number than it is to crack a TOTP token. (See this article for examples: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/08/password-breach-teaches-reddit-that-yes-phone-based-2fa-is-that-bad/) Requiring SMS means that everyone's account now has that "weakest link," even if they use a TOTP app.

• Not everyone is comfortable giving their phone number to Twitch. Phone numbers are used for all sorts of things these days, including sensitive accounts. Some people just might maintain a strict online/offline life separation, and are wary of their phone number being leaked. Even if Twitch never intentionally reveals SMS authentication numbers to the public, hacks can and do happen.

• Not everyone has a phone, or has a phone capable of receiving text messages, or a permanent phone number, or a phone that's recognized by Twitch as legitimate... Some people are still on landline for financial reasons. Some people are using small, alternative carriers like Republic Wireless or Google Fi, which get flagged as VoIPs. (Which Twitch does not allow for SMS authentication, despite those numbers being able to receive text messages.) The possibilities go on and on.

I'm sure there are many other reasons why requiring SMS authentication is a bad idea. I'm not asking for it to be removed entirely, but we should at least have the option of NOT using it.

Thanks for reading, and do correct me if this option already exists and I somehow missed it.

(See also: https://twitch.uservoice.com/forums/310228-account-management-e-g-login-connections-pass/suggestions/35025769-an-option-to-disable-sms-authentication-fallback-a)

re: https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2021/09/29/securing-your-chat-with-phone-and-email-verification/

The FAQ suggests alternatives to mobile verification, VOIP, et al., are not good enough for verification; i.e., too cheap to spoof.

I'm an affiliate in long standing, can that fact not be verification that I can be trusted not to make duplicate accounts? Twitch has my tax ID, I'm pretty sure that they're pretty sure who I am. I do use Authy (and other online services) for verification, but I do not use cell networks ("mobile").

It makes little sense that Twitch has approved Us affiliates to represent their Terms of Service well enough to pay us, yet I'm not trusted enough to speak in Phone Verified Chat channels.

Many streamers are currently being flooded by bots. There are no adequate filter mechanisms such as Captcha or other authentication methods that probe the creation of multiple fake accounts.

Twitch should use a secure authentication method for account creation as soon as possible so that so-called bot accounts and fake accounts can no longer be created in the future.

These bots make it unnecessarily difficult for honest streamers to apply for a partnership. In addition, it is almost impossible for streamers to prove that they have not bought or deliberately used any bots such as follower bots.

Dear community, please share this suggestion as best you can so that Twitch takes active and timely action against the urgent problem of bot attacks.

   I am suggesting an idea which would utilize having set up 2FA using a phone number to count for chat verification as well.
   I was in a raid but when I got to the destination streamer I couldn't send messages in the chat even though I had followed that channel.  I got a message saying that I couldn't chat because my account wasn't verified.  I clicked on the little info icon, and it explained it and I was able to get into chat fine.
   I was confused though, because I have had my Twitch account set up with 2FA using my phone number for a while, easily more than 3 months.  I thought that would suffice as enough for having my account verified.  I was really confused when the system gave me the verification code to use before I had entered my phone number to the system.  I know that's because of how Google Authenticator works, but still confusing that it worked.
   I'm just thinking that, because the layers of security are identical for setting up 2FA and chat verification, fulfilling one requirement could be counted as fulfilling the other.  I don't think this would decrease security at all but it would improve the user experience.  I know that it would take some coding work to make that happen, but I think the time would be worth it.

Right now i can't chat on any twitch cause its asking for me to enter a mobile number. and despite my repeated attempts at getting SOMEONE to disable this stupid targeting on my accounts, nobody is listening. And no I'm not giving my mobile number. u have my verified email and i shouldn't be scrutinized to enter a mobile number. If you need mobile numbers on my account then i'm not using twitch period. and unsubbing from everything and moving to another platform. the fact you single me out for using twitch-tools.de and a vpn shows you don't care about user privacy at all. so stop with this pointless and easy to circumvent security measure that is only infuriating me and others.