Yahoo! to no longer allow Gmail or Facebook logins through services

5 Mar 2014

Yahoo! has announced its various online websites will gradually phase out the ability to login with Gmail or Facebook account information and will require a Yahoo! account instead.

Currently, Yahoo!-owned websites, such as Flickr, Tumblr and Wretch, are some of the company’s owned sites and this move will look to encourage more people to set up Yahoo! accounts.

In a statement on the decision, a Yahoo! spokesperson said, “Yahoo! is continually working on improving the user experience,” and further added it “will allow us to offer the best personalised experience to everyone”.

Yahoo!’s CEO Marissa Mayer has been pushing for this model of web services since she first took over in 2012 and has been promoting the company’s own brand-named products, as well as other Yahoo!-owned services.

Irish users of Yahoo! websites can wait a little bit longer before they have to sign up for a Yahoo! account, as the first expected website to shut its Gmail and Facebook logins will be its Sports Tourney Pick’Em service, which is aimed at fans of American college basketball teams.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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