Yahoo To Ditch Third Party Login ID Option

Yahoo has confirmed plans to drop third-party login support, which has – until now – allowed users to login to Yahoo services using their ID credentials from Facebook or Google. Instead, it is going to insist that users register for a Yahoo ID in order to use any of its services.

A Yahoo spokeswoman, speaking to Reuters, confirmed the change, which will be rolled out gradually to the Yahoo community.

External Sign-in

“Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience,” the company was quoted as saying in a statement. It said that the new process “will allow us to offer the best personalised experience to everyone”.

It is reported that the first Yahoo service to require a dedicated Yahoo ID is the Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick’Em, a service focused on the American college basketball tournament.

Yahoo had allowed users to use their Google or Facebook IDs to access Yahoo back in 2010 and 2011 as then CEO Carol Bartz, was looking to ease access and encourage more users to use Yahoo services.

But current CEO Marissa Mayer has now opted to reverse this decision as part of her plan to make Yahoo a more mobile friendly content portal that offers users greater personalisation options. The thinking is that by forcing users to register for dedicated Yahoo IDs, it will allow Yahoo to retain greater control of its content and services, and also help in its monetisation efforts, as it battles worrying declines in its advertising revenues.

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