Facebook to allow anonymous logins to mobile apps in bid to boost online security
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Facebook says it will let users log in to apps anonymously, without sharing their identities and personal information with mobile applications they don't trust.
Facebook's 1.28 billion users can already use a 'log in with Facebook' button to sign up for apps that let them listen to music, play games, read the news and monitor fitness activities.
But using the button allows apps to access information related to the Facebook user's identity.
Mark Zuckerberg announced the anonymous app login at Facebook's F8 conference in San Francisco
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Facebook says the new feature will be adopted by websites and mobile apps within the next year.
By checking or unchecking a box, users will be able to specify if they want to share their friend list, their birthday or their 'likes,' among others.
They will also have the option to use an anonymous login option that will allow people to log in to apps and websites without sharing any personal data with those apps or sites.
Developers of apps and websites will choose whether to use the anonymous login alongside or in place of the traditional login.
With the anonymous login, Facebook will have information about users but the apps won't.
Facebook says the feature will let more people to try out new apps.
'It lets you try apps without fear,' Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said at Facebook's f8 developer conference in San Francisco.
'We know some people are scared of pressing this blue button for social login', Zuckerberg said.
'If you're using an app that you don't completely trust … then you don't want to give it a lot of permissions.'
Facebook also improved the way users choose what infomration to share with sites they use Facebook to log in to.
The new feature will be adopted by websites and mobile apps within the next year.
By checking or unchecking a box, users will be able to specify if they want to share their friend list, their birthday or their 'likes,' among others.
Zuckerberg also revealed the firm's app has been downloaded over a billion times
Social login helps Facebook collect more personal information about its users, like shopping preferences, browsing habits and mobile app use. Facebook uses the information it gathers to sell targeted advertisements.
The company is also launching more granular controls that let people determine the types of information they share with apps when they want to use their Facebook identity to log in.
'The new Facebook Login puts control squarely in people's hands by letting them choose what they share with apps,' the firm said.
Experts say the move could boost interaction between users and advertisers on the site.
Facebook says it's new service will let users log in to apps anonymously, without sharing their identities and personal information with mobile applications they don't trust
Facebook Login accounts for just over half of social logins, according to Gigya, which provides social login technology to web site and mobile app developers.
Google's social login product accounts for 31%. On mobile, Facebook leads by large margin, with 62% to Google's 26%.
Patrick Salyer, CEO of Gigya said: 'The changes Facebook announced today regarding Facebook Login mark a major milestone for trust and transparency between brands and consumers.
'Allowing consumers to control and understand what data they are providing brands with fosters more trust with those brands and will ultimately provide for a better user experience while making users more willing to share their data on mutually beneficial terms.'
The firm also unveiled a new ad network for developers.
'Mobile ads don't work well for advertisers, who struggle to reach the people they care about; and they don't work well for people using apps, who end up seeing ads that aren't relevant for them,' the firm said..
'Over the last few years, we've proven that mobile ads work on Facebook.
'Today we're introducing the Audience Network, which extends the reach of Facebook campaigns into third-party mobile apps.'
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