Twitter went down in Turkey following Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's pledge to eradicate Twitter in the country.
The service may be officially banned -- but Turkey's 10 million Twitter users are still finding ways to tweet.
despite the ban, my #turkish timeline is busier than ever.People were ready, change DNS/use VPN and continue to access twitter in #Turkey
— Irem Koker (@ikoker) March 20, 2014
Here are three ways users can get around the ban:
1. SMS
In what is likely the simplest way to get around the restrictions, users can send tweets via SMS -- though this solution is limited to sending outgoing tweets.
Twitter provided both English and Turkish instructions for doing this.
Turkish users: you can send Tweets using SMS. Avea and Vodafone text START to 2444. Turkcell text START to 2555.
— Policy (@policy) March 20, 2014
Avea ve Vodafone'dan 2444'e, Turkcell'den 2555'e START mesajı göndererek SMS üzerinden Twitter kullanmaya başlayabilirsiniz.
— Policy (@policy) March 20, 2014
2. Change Your DNS
Many users are reporting they are able to bypass the block by changing their DNS settings. Non tech-savvy users will need to exercise caution when changing these numbers, but solutions like OpenDNS or Google DNS are reliable.
Looks like local DNS poisoning, so global DNS providers so far in the clear. #turkey #twitter
— Arjen de Wolff (@adewolff) March 21, 2014
Wikileaks posted step-by-step instructions in Turkish. This video demonstrates the process for iPhones:
3. Use a VPN or Tor
Another solution is to use a VPN connection. Setting up a VPN usually requires paying at least some cash upfront, though there are free versions. But as one Reddit user pointed out, people should be cautious when using free VPNs. They can be unreliable, or in some cases, malicious software.
Pls RT @yaseminj: Download&Share VPN to get access to Twitter: Android: https://t.co/l1WQf8UYn8 iPhone/iPad: https://t.co/SHQJUwZu47 #Turkey
— Senay Ozdemir (@senaytweets) March 20, 2014
Users can also get around the restrictions by using Tor, which anonymizes your Internet connection. "Individuals use Tor to to connect to news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet providers," its website explains.