Yahoo is getting rid of Facebook and Google sign-ins for its services sometime in the near future which will require Yahoo users to create or use an actual Yahoo username.
A spokeswoman for the company stated that all Yahoo services would soon be connected, allowing people to use the same sign-in for each application. However, that sign-in would have to be Yahoo’s and not Facebook or Google, which is currently offered.
This switch will offer the “best personalized experience to everyone” according to the spokeswoman, who made the announcement on Tuesday.
So far, the switch is occurring slowly and as was reported earlier this week, the Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick’Em service has already transitioned to the updated sign-in interface. An exact timeline for when the change will affect Yahoo’s more popular services (like Sports and Flickr) has yet to be provided.
Yahoo ID has been improved upon pushed in recent months following a decision in 2013 to remove email accounts that had not been used for at least 12 months. By doing this, Yahoo was able to open up far more ID options to new users and now that those IDs are required, picking a good one is even more important than it was before.
The ability to sign-in with Facebook and Google was introduced just a few years ago in 2011. At that time, former CEO Carol Bartz hoped that by allowing people to sign-in to Yahoo services with more popular websites, Yahoo would be able to increase its user base. While this may have worked before, CEO Marissa Mayer has been pushing the company in a new direction with the intention of creating a large and dedicated user base rather than a fragmented one.
Many of the changes that have occurred under Mayer have been met with scrutiny from current Yahoo users, and a recent Snowden leak that revealed how the GCHQ spied on people via Yahoo Messenger has not helped the company’s reputation.
Summary: Yahoo will begin to phase out Facebook and Google sign-ins. Soon, users will have to use a more connected sign-in process that is based around Yahoo ID.
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