It’s much easier to log in to new services using your social login.
Unsurprisingly the numbers who are doing it are growing according to a survey by Gigya among 18-55 year olds in the US that suggest that the numbers doing this have grown from 53% in 2012 to a staggering 77%.
More worryingly, those that do are doing it more frequently. Some 65% are claiming to use social login often or always compared with just 35% in 2012. And I suspect this trend will continue and people will use social login for increasingly private access without recognising the risks.
This may backfire on brands offering social login, particularly in trust-, health- and finance-related industries where sensitive information might be shared.
No brand should rely, without serious consideration, on a third party with whom they have no formal relationship to become the key-holder of their customers’ privacy.
Therein lies a PR nightmare.