Privacy concerns are being ignored as social login grows

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.

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