Sign In with Apple — quick login for privacy geeks

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At its Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this June, Apple presented its new authentication system, Sign In with Apple, which lets users create new website and app accounts using their Apple ID. It’s supposed to be very simple: One click or a tap and you are signed in. According to the plan, the system is going to be tested this summer to become available to the general public toward year end.

The idea is not new: Facebook and Google have had a similar option for some years now. But the approach Apple chose differs fundamentally from those of its predecessors. Here’s why.

How does it work with Google and Facebook?

Many websites and apps offer Facebook Login and Google Sign-In options. It seems simple and convenient enough: one click and you don’t have to make up any new logins and passwords. Facebook and Google themselves will tell the new resource who you are, plus share some of the data from your profile, such as your e-mail, name, and avatar. But they may also share more than that.

Thus, when laying out the advantages its button offers to developers, Facebook notes that it may give a website or app a fully detailed record of the user, a volume and level of information the resource in question would never have collected that quickly. Yet in most cases you will be asked whether you are ready to share, let’s say, your contacts or interests.

As for your activities on the new resource, Facebook or Google will learn all about them without fail. Thus, if you log in to TripAdvisor through Facebook, the social network will be informed about your orders and feedback, and it will be able to serve you ads of, let’s say, last-minute travel offers for your preferred destinations. Some people may like such complaisance, but not all are prepared to share further details about their online experience with the social network. Especially if one recalls that sometimes, such information leaks from Facebook.

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