Amazon Unveils Its Own Log-In Service For Third-Party Developers
by Brent Dirks
May 29, 2013
Taking on competing services from Google and Facebook head-on, Amazon has announced its own log-in service for third-party developers. Login with Amazon will allow its more than 200 million customers to use their Amazon username and password to access other websites, apps, and games.
“Login with Amazon enables app developers and website owners to leverage Amazon’s trusted sign-in solution, allowing them to focus on providing a great experience for their customers,” said Michael Carr, Amazon Vice President, eCommerce Services. “Amazon customers now have a hassle-free way to quickly and securely sign-in to apps, games and websites, without having to remember yet another password.Two Amazon subsidiaries, Woot and Zappos, have received some nice results while testing out the feature. Forty percent of new Zappos customers chose to sign-in to the site with their Amazon account. And new customers at Woot picked Login with Amazon two times more than any other third-party login system. Developers of iOS apps can easily integrate Login with Amazon. The service, based on the OAuth 2.0 authorization framework, is free to use. More information, including code samples and an SDK for iOS can be found on Login with Amazon’s site. While I’ve previously used Facebook and Google’s service to log-in to third-party websites and games, I would probably be a little more reluctant to use my Amazon information, simply because a credit card is tied into my account. But I do wonder if this service is only a puzzle piece of a much larger strategy from Amazon, especially in light of three rumored mobile devices the company may soon be introducing.