'Sign in with Apple' mandatory for all apps with third-party sign-in options

AppleInsider

Apple's new "Sign in with Apple" login feature that debuts with iOS 13 later this year will be mandatory for all apps that offer third-party sign-in options to users, the company said in an update to developers on Monday.

Apple in a post to its Developer news webpage outlines a handful of updates to the App Store Review Guidelines, noting changes to the ruleset that impact app makers and their wares.

Among the modifications is upcoming support for "Sign in with Apple," a newly announced user authentication feature that enables streamlined access to apps and websites.

The single sign-on feature was touted onstage as a safe and secure alternative to ubiquitous solutions Facebook and Google, but the company failed to mention that developers offering those third-party sign-in options, among others, will be required to also integrate Apple's system.

"Sign In with Apple will be available for beta testing this summer. It will be required as an option for users in apps that support third-party sign-in when it is commercially available later this year," Apple said.

The feature allows users to create a new account with supporting apps, websites and services without exposing potentially sensitive private information. Unlike existing solutions, "Sign in with Apple" users are able to authenticate via Face ID or Touch ID and filter what information is passed on to the provider, greatly reducing their online footprint.

Unique to Apple's method is a specialized email forwarding subsystem that allows users to mask their personal address with an anonymized version generated on a per-app or service basis. The strategy not only ensures privacy, but also a means to completely terminate communications with an entity when an account is closed.

mazda 3s

Good! Bravo, Apple!

chaicka

Excellent news and I will jump onto it when available.

The ability to mask the real email address is not a new technology. Namecheap.com's WhoisGuard feature is the same approach which masks real email address with random generated email address and it changes every 7 days (at max setting).

the monk

Glad Apple is looking after their users, as users aren’t very good in looking out for themselves when it comes to privacy.

1STnTENDERBITS

the monk said:

Glad Apple is looking after their users, as users aren’t very good in looking out for themselves when it comes to privacy.

This is nice to have as an additional option, but it's not really going to change much in my opinion.  People who sign in with FB, Twitter and such are probably going to continue to sign in with those 3rd party tie ins.  They're typically invested in those social media environments.  Unless Apple makes it's sign-in mandatory for users, those same people are most likely going to "stay connected".  Privacy really isn't their primary concern.  Remember, this is only mandatory for devs with 3rd party sign-in attached to their apps.  It's not for us civilians.

AZGuy

Apple is stuffing this down developers throats.   Apple will now have more control over app developers. I am not sure this is good for app developers are some of the other changes.     

EsquireCats

1STnTENDERBITS said:

the monk said:

Glad Apple is looking after their users, as users aren’t very good in looking out for themselves when it comes to privacy.

This is nice to have as an additional option, but it's not really going to change much in my opinion.  People who sign in with FB, Twitter and such are probably going to continue to sign in with those 3rd party tie ins.  They're typically invested in those social media environments.  Unless Apple makes it's sign-in mandatory for users, those same people are most likely going to "stay connected".  Privacy really isn't their primary concern.  Remember, this is only mandatory for devs with 3rd party sign-in attached to their apps.  It's not for us civilians.

I don't think that captures the whole picture of why users choose single sign-in. Certainly I don't anticipate those who are already signed in with Facebook/Google/Twitter to sign out, however I would expect new users of websites to be favourable to the Apple option. At the moment some services only offer Facebook as a means to start using the service, so I feel an option that users can genuinely trust will be appreciated, especially with the email randomisation feature providing the convenience of a throw-away email address without the bother of managing one.

I don't anticipate a strong user behaviour for choosing Facebook/Google/Twitter sign in due to prior investment in those platforms as you have described. Users already have ample means to share and engage content into those platforms without signing in. I see the primary benefit of single sign in has always been about reducing the friction into using account-only features.

Facebook and Google were very smart in identifying this user insight early and deploying service as a means to drive engagement to their, otherwise tangentially related, platforms. The fact that it adds literally no other features to your facebook (or former G+) account is more proof that it's all about the seamless experience and not about bringing any tangible value to your facebook/etc. experience.

At the end of the day, providing consumers with an option to rid themselves of facebook is a good thing. It's not normal for such a service, let alone one shown to be so abusive, to be this ingrained into society and the web.

flydog

AZGuy said:

Apple is stuffing this down developers throats.   Apple will now have more control over app developers. I am not sure this is good for app developers are some of the other changes.     

As a developer, I support and applaud the move.  We got rid of third-party sign in last year.  We respect the privacy of our users and FaceBook, Google, etc do not.

The primary reason developers use FB sign-in is to reduce signup friction, but Apple sign-in accomplishes the same thing without requiring users to give up their privacy.  

charlesgres

So, if I used to sign in with Google and switch to sign in with Apple, will the app recognize me as the same person?

ZRyser

Together with iPadOS, this was the high point of the WWDC for me.
Any Apple user can potentially benefit from this. Not just the ones who buy the next product. This is what sets Apple apart.

apple ][

AZGuy said:

Apple is stuffing this down developers throats.   Apple will now have more control over app developers. I am not sure this is good for app developers are some of the other changes.     

Screw the developers because this is not some crazy or unreasonable request. If they don't like it, they can pull their apps.

FB/Google logins have always annoyed me and it's great to see that Apple will now force a third option. I can see myself using that one, as I do not trust FB or Google at all.

StrangeDays

1STnTENDERBITS said:

the monk said:

Glad Apple is looking after their users, as users aren’t very good in looking out for themselves when it comes to privacy.

This is nice to have as an additional option, but it's not really going to change much in my opinion.  People who sign in with FB, Twitter and such are probably going to continue to sign in with those 3rd party tie ins.  They're typically invested in those social media environments.  Unless Apple makes it's sign-in mandatory for users, those same people are most likely going to "stay connected".  Privacy really isn't their primary concern.  Remember, this is only mandatory for devs with 3rd party sign-in attached to their apps.  It's not for us civilians.

Disagree. Lots of people use these third party sign in options out of simple convenience, not out of brand loyalty to google or facebook (lol). Usage doesn’t offer any social feature or gain, and only offers increased liability. Even normals are realizing this now. 

People trust Apple more. They’ll adopt it. 

StrangeDays

AZGuy said:

Apple is stuffing this down developers throats.   Apple will now have more control over app developers. I am not sure this is good for app developers are some of the other changes.     

Your short posting history reveals your agenda. Your FUD is nonsense and wasted here. 

StrangeDays

charlesgres said:

So, if I used to sign in with Google and switch to sign in with Apple, will the app recognize me as the same person?

I would imagine for a well-designed app it should not be a problem. Your internal (to the app) user ID remains the same, it’s just the external service used to verify and return authenticated status that has changed. 

StrangeDays

Rayer said:

So if Apple is going to require this going forward, if I were to setup an iPhone fresh without restoring from a backup, will I be required to sign in with Apple if I previously used Facebook or Google? How will my account data with X service be restored if it was tied to a Google/Facebook/Twitter/etc account?

No. You’re confusing requiring the app devs to offer Sign-in With Apple with requiring users to use it. 

AppleExposed

apple ][ said:

AZGuy said:

Apple is stuffing this down developers throats.   Apple will now have more control over app developers. I am not sure this is good for app developers are some of the other changes.     

Screw the developers because this is not some crazy or unreasonable request. If they don't like it, they can pull their apps.

FB/Google logins have always annoyed me and it's great to see that Apple will now force a third option. I can see myself using that one, as I do not trust FB or Google at all.

What people seem to have missed is the convenience of FaceID to log in. This will make login simple and faster. I'm sure TouchID will also be supported.

Add that in and I see more people using Apple than FB/Google.

1STnTENDERBITS said:

the monk said:

Glad Apple is looking after their users, as users aren’t very good in looking out for themselves when it comes to privacy.

This is nice to have as an additional option, but it's not really going to change much in my opinion.  People who sign in with FB, Twitter and such are probably going to continue to sign in with those 3rd party tie ins.  They're typically invested in those social media environments.  Unless Apple makes it's sign-in mandatory for users, those same people are most likely going to "stay connected".  Privacy really isn't their primary concern.  Remember, this is only mandatory for devs with 3rd party sign-in attached to their apps.  It's not for us civilians.

Ummm WHY?

Either option logs you into the same content. What a ridiculous attempt to troll a blessing and ground-breaking innovation from Apple.

delreyjones

StrangeDays said:

AZGuy said:

Apple is stuffing this down developers throats.   Apple will now have more control over app developers. I am not sure this is good for app developers are some of the other changes.     

Your short posting history reveals your agenda. Your FUD is nonsense and wasted here. 

You're right, AZGuy is a troll.  I wish they had an ETI instruction:  Execute Troll Immediately!

jgreg728

AZGuy said:

Apple is stuffing this down developers throats.   Apple will now have more control over app developers. I am not sure this is good for app developers are some of the other changes.     

Are you out of your mind??? Screw ANY developer who would see this as a bad thing!!! What further "control" does this give Apple over them?? Consumer first!!!

22july2013

I'm with all of you on this. But Apple may be thwarted. Perhaps legally, or perhaps commercially. Legally because it might be perceived as monopolistic. Consider this: could Apple get away with saying all web browsers on macOS  have to include a special menu bar with buttons that say "Sign in with Apple", "Buy with Apple", "Play on Apple Music", etc.? Well, macOS only runs on Mac hardware, so why not? Mac hardware is still a small minority of hardware out there. This is exactly the kind of behaviour that might make the EU courts more seriously consider if Apple is imposing undue burdens on developers of software for their app stores.

To be honest, I'm perplexed by Apple's move. Because it doesn't feel necessary. I think Apple would win this war hands down. They don't need an army on their side here, they've got God on their side already here.

I didn't mention why Apple could be defeated commercially here. I'll not explain that to make y'all think. Just remember, there are commercial forces even bigger than Apple in this world.

1STnTENDERBITS

AppleExposed said:

1STnTENDERBITS said:

the monk said:

Glad Apple is looking after their users, as users aren’t very good in looking out for themselves when it comes to privacy.

This is nice to have as an additional option, but it's not really going to change much in my opinion.  People who sign in with FB, Twitter and such are probably going to continue to sign in with those 3rd party tie ins.  They're typically invested in those social media environments.  Unless Apple makes it's sign-in mandatory for users, those same people are most likely going to "stay connected".  Privacy really isn't their primary concern.  Remember, this is only mandatory for devs with 3rd party sign-in attached to their apps.  It's not for us civilians.

Ummm WHY?

Either option logs you into the same content. What a ridiculous attempt to troll a blessing and ground-breaking innovation from Apple.

Go back an look through your comment history and feel bad for yourself.  Your comments real like those of an ignorant sycophant It's almost as if you're trying to be the embodiment of the description of iSheep.  The entirety of your commentary amounts to myopic fanboy idiocy.  You don't even try to comprehend what you read before spewing absolute garbage.  My comment is about the people who sign in with FB, not anything bad about Apple. Either learn to read, or stop commenting on my quotes.  I'd much prefer you learn to read.  We'd all be better for it.

1STnTENDERBITS

StrangeDays said:

1STnTENDERBITS said:

the monk said:

Glad Apple is looking after their users, as users aren’t very good in looking out for themselves when it comes to privacy.

This is nice to have as an additional option, but it's not really going to change much in my opinion.  People who sign in with FB, Twitter and such are probably going to continue to sign in with those 3rd party tie ins.  They're typically invested in those social media environments.  Unless Apple makes it's sign-in mandatory for users, those same people are most likely going to "stay connected".  Privacy really isn't their primary concern.  Remember, this is only mandatory for devs with 3rd party sign-in attached to their apps.  It's not for us civilians.

Disagree. Lots of people use these third party sign in options out of simple convenience, not out of brand loyalty to google or facebook (lol). Usage doesn’t offer any social feature or gain, and only offers increased liability. Even normals are realizing this now. 

People trust Apple more. They’ll adopt it. 

Yeah, I wrote that quote inelegantly and couldn't add to it before the edit feature timed out.  Convenience is the main focus of what I was trying to say, but you can't under estimate the social importance of that connection.  Primarily my comment is about FB.  That sign in along with their various other trackers, feeds back into their Social Graph (even AI uses FB Social Graph) that allows them to tailor the users social experience on their site and across the web through advertisements.  FB makes their online lives "better".  So they conveniently use that sign in because it integrates with all their other stuff.   I say that privacy isn't their primary concern because, let's be honest, it isn't.  FB has had multiple data breaches and multiple other data scandals, yet their revenue was up 16% YoY, and their daily active users was up 8% YoY.  By and large, people don't care about privacy.  Our tech microcosm is not indicative of the public at large.  At best the masses are indifferent to privacy.

As I said, Apple being an option is a good thing.  It's just not one that I think is going to move the needle that much.