Twitter users with 2-factor authentication said they were locked out of their accounts soon after Elon Musk said he was ridding the site of 'bloatware'

• Some Twitter users said its two-factor authentication system was temporarily down on Monday.
• This left them locked out of their accounts, they said.

Some Twitter users said that problems with the platform's two-factor authentication system mean they were temporarily locked out of their accounts on Monday amid new owner Elon Musk's huge changes to the platform.

Musk tweeted on Monday that he was "turning off the 'microservices' bloatware." He said that less than 20% of the company's microservices were needed for Twitter to work.

The Washington Post reporter Joseph Menn tweeted that Twitter's two-factor authentication system seemed to have been affected by this. The system, which users can opt in to, works by requiring people to authenticate their account using a second method alongside their password. This could be a code sent by SMS, a login confirmation via an app, or a physical security key.

One Twitter user posted on Monday morning that they had not received an SMS after trying to log in to their account using two-factor authentication.

"Can't send the confirmation code right now. Please try again later," the message from Twitter read.

They tweeted a few hours later that the two-factor authentication service still wasn't working, attaching a screenshot of a message from Twitter saying: "You have hit the limit for SMS codes. Try again in 24 hours."

Other Twitter users said they also couldn't use the two-factor authentication service via SMS and email.

Cybersecurity expert Kevin Beaumont tweeted later on Monday that the service was working again but had been down for around 90 minutes.

Since taking ownership of Twitter on October 27, Musk has pushed ahead with plans to roll out massive changes at the platform, such as charging users for verification and luring content creators over from other sites. He has also touted the possibility of introducing tiers of content moderation, reviving Vine, and offering a high-yield money market account.

Musk has also fired around half of the company's workforce, told staff to return to the office or face dismissal, and brought in more than 50 employees from Tesla.

One social-media expert previously told Insider that while Musk's decisions since taking over Twitter may look chaotic, he clearly has a "master plan."