Products · Product
Twilio
Raised as a usability problem by 35 people on Hacker News over 18 years (2009–2026), in 28 threads.
No issue was raised by at least 3 people in 3 threads this year.
Every issue, all time, most people first
Forced SMS two-factor auth locks users out without a phoneUnreviewed
20092026- Forced into SMS two-factor auth and locked out without a phone set up2023-06-18
- Forced SMS-based Authy enrollment, can't switch to offline TOTP app, repeated recovery codes2023-02-13
- Forced into SMS two-factor login, locking the user out until they contacted support2022-10-18
Unreviewed issues were grouped by machine: Claude Haiku labelled each comment as a usability complaint, named what it's about and summed up the problem in a line, and a small model grouped similar problems. Nobody has checked them by hand. Expect mistakes.
The newest 36 complaints
- Hard to find things because the interface is rewritten every year2026-09-05
- Confusing verification asked for the same documents repeatedly; support unhelpful2025-10-13
- Gave up on using it because the interface became confusing and frustrating2025-06-09
- Verification requires many hoops and repeated paid resubmissions, with support locked behind a paid plan2024-07-22
- Must deposit money, then wait for support to activate account, plus repeated applications2024-01-08
- Can't find UI to remove emergency address from a phone number, only add2024-01-08
- Process was built around marketing campaigns, confusing for purely transactional texting2023-11-07
- Forced into SMS two-factor auth and locked out without a phone set up2023-06-18
- Too many overlapping APIs and duplicate classes; documentation is byzantine and bloated2023-06-18
- Connect forces customers to re-buy numbers and rebuild the whole Twilio UI2023-06-18
- Brand vetting needs 15-20 API calls with unknown waits, and the UI cannot do it2023-02-14
- Forced SMS-based Authy enrollment, can't switch to offline TOTP app, repeated recovery codes2023-02-13
- Twilio's API and user interface are described as awful to use2023-01-29
- Verification form repeatedly makes user redo it months later2023-01-06
- Console is very confusing to navigate2023-01-05
- Forced into SMS two-factor login, locking the user out until they contacted support2022-10-18
- Three or four menu levels shown at once in different directions, making the interface a mess2021-06-14
- Must enter email and click arrow before password field appears, confusing password managers and slowing login2021-05-03
- Must enter email and click arrow before seeing the password field2021-05-03
- Support phone option just plays a message redirecting users to email tickets2021-04-15
- Locked out of account until a mobile phone number is supplied for SMS 2FA2021-04-06
- Every button triggers a full page reload, making interaction painfully slow2019-11-05
- Can't sign up for a temporary eSIM plan abroad without a national ID or office visit2019-05-11
- Docs are often unusable, so developers must read SDK source to find methods2018-09-04
- API has become opaque and awkward, like AWS's, hard to work with2018-05-16
- Redesigned SPA-style operations like adding numbers to Copilot service are slow and buggy2017-10-26
- Redesign made operations slow and buggy, and finding things feels like fighting the site2017-10-26
- Spent more time navigating the portal than programming; layout is inscrutable2017-10-26
- Docs lack inbound call example and it's hard to find the 'from' number2017-03-20
- Client library methods call inconsistent endpoints, and docs are often outdated or incorrect2016-05-25
- Scrolling effect is jittery and pretty much unusable in Safari2015-04-14
- Users may not understand the Flash permission prompt and the default denies access2011-07-26
- SMS is a nightmare to deploy, with carrier-related troubles and patchy international delivery2010-09-25
- Giant feedback button hovers over text; clicking it hides embedded videos instead of giving feedback2010-08-04
- Can't find a price list; only a request-a-quote form2010-06-15
- Their XML call-handling language turned the commenter away, rather than using standard VoiceXML2009-01-15