Amazon Launches Login Service For Third-Party Apps

Amazon has launched ‘Login with Amazon’, a new API-based service that allows third-party developers to take advantage of existing Amazon accounts for user identification, rather than make them register new app or website-specific accounts.

Login with Amazon will compete with similar services provided by Facebook, Twitter and Google. What sets it apart is the fact that Amazon is primarily a shopping network, and thus the accounts are tied to the user’s credit card, instantly allowing in-app purchases.

The service is already available on the websites of two of Amazon’s subsidiaries, Zappos and Woot.

Amazon branches out

Login with Amazon helps users access apps, games and websites with a single set of Amazon credentials. It instantly reduces “sign-in friction” and frees customers from remembering yet another password, at the same time making financial transactions a lot simpler.

“Login with Amazon enables app developers and website owners to leverage Amazon’s trusted sign-in solution, allowing them to focus on providing a great experience for their customers,” commented Michael Carr, VP for eCommerce Services at Amazon.

The company said that during testing, Woot customers were twice as likely to use Amazon Login than any social network credentials, and these customers were actually shopping more on the website. With Zapos, 40 percent of customers chose to use their existing Amazon accounts.

Using Login with Amazon is free to developers. The service is based on the popular OAuth 2.0 open standard for authorisation, and the company says it can be integrated “in a matter of hours”. Code samples and the SDKs are already available on the dedicated website, including resources for Android and iOS.

It is worth noting that ‘Single Sign-On’ systems, like the ones offered by Facebook, Google and now Amazon, have been criticised in the past for security issues.

This is the latest attempt by Amazon to draw a bunch of separate products into its ecosystem. The company already offers its own AppStore and GameCircle, a platform similar to Apple’s Game Centre or the recently announced Google Play game services.

Amazon is also heavily promoting in-app purchases made through its online store, going as far as to offer virtual items via the same interface used for real-world goods.

You can find more details about Login with Amazon in the video below:

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