Easy access no more? App developers moving away from Facebook login citing privacy concerns

New Delhi | Mumbai: Third party applications that allow users to log in through Facebook accounts are yet to get clarity on how the social media firm’s new terms of service will affect them, but people close to these companies said they have been pursuing other options.Third party applications have been reducing their dependence on Facebook over the past 9-12 months citing user privacy concerns and data breach issues, and encouraging their users to log in through mobile numbers and emails, they said.Applications across categories such as dating, gaming and booking platforms, and many others use Facebook as one of the options to access their platforms as users can provide information and details already uploaded on Facebook. Facebook had recently notified users about an update to its terms of service from October 1. It will update section 3.2 to include: “We also can remove or restrict access to your content, services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.” “Prima facie, it doesn’t appear that the new terms of service will impact us,” said Snehil Khanor, cofounder of dating app TrulyMadly. “But, nowadays, most dating apps, and not just us, are trying to reduce their dependence on Facebook anyway. Currently, only 35% of our users use Facebook logins. We didn’t decide this. The users did,” he told ET. “The users stopped using Facebook as a way to login when some privacy concerns surfaced,” Khanor said. “We also realise that we cannot be dependent on Facebook especially when they are also getting into dating.” A Facebook spokesperson said the global update provides more flexibility for the company to change its services to continue to operate and support its users across the world (including Australia) in response to potential regulation or legal action. About a week ago, Facebook had said it would block users and news organisations in Australia from sharing local and international stories on its network and Instagram if the country passed a code of conduct released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which would force companies like Facebook and Google to pay news outlets for their content. 77988543“Facebook continues to be an option but the emphasis on gaming platforms is on logins through email address or phone numbers,” a person working for a gaming app said on condition of anonymity. “They prefer mobile phones and are emphasising more on that.” Entertainment ticketing service BookMyShow, for example, has stopped using third party sign-ins for customers over the past 8-9 months and uses only phone numbers and emails, external sources familiar with matters at the company said.BookMyShow did not respond to requests for comment as of press time Monday. Gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) and dating app Bumble, too, did not respond to requests for comments. A person familiar with matters at Bumble said, “Being a women-centric dating app and to provide more security, they prefer logins through mobile numbers and personal email addresses rather than a Facebook login to reduce chances of stalking on social media.” Facebook's move to update its terms of service have drawn mixed reactions from users with some stating it could be used to justify online censorship by the platform.

from Economic Times https://bit.ly/3iac3rx
via IFTTT