Facebook, Google, Twitter, LinkedIn, GitHub, and other third-party login systems easily solved the first-world problem of setting up and remembering lots of different credentials for different services. Apple's new "Sign in with Apple" system, however, aims to address one of the biggest problems with many of these systems:privacy. By keeping the information they gather and collect to a minimum and including several great privacy features designed to prevent users from being tracked, their ultimate goal is to provide their users with a less intrusive social login option.
SummaryWhat makes Apple Sign-in different?It doesn't tell the app muchIt may hide your email addressIt doesn't track your interactions with the appWhere can I sign in with Apple? you connect with them Apples?Although the system is not yet fully rolled out, it will likely be ubiquitous on iOS apps by April 2020, the deadline set by Apple for many app developers to implement the new system in addition to their other sign-in options. . It can also work on the web and on Android devices, but at the moment its use is limited to those equipped with Apple devices.
First, Sign in with Apple focuses on minimal information exchange. When you sign up with Apple, the app only knows your name, email address, and a unique Apple ID. The ID is not your Apple ID – it's hidden – but rather a code that changes for each app, so it can't be used to connect a user's accounts with each other.
Your email address should also not be a unique identifier. If you don't want to reveal your real email, Apple will create a randomly generated address for you that you can use to sign up. All emails sent to this address will then be forwarded to your primary Apple ID email address (Apple does not store or read them, it just forwards them). You can create multiple addresses and delete them if you wish, which can also be a good security measure, as it means that your real email address will not be revealed in the event of a hack or breach.
Of course, you can do this manually by setting up your own range of email addresses and forwarding them to your main account, but that's a much simpler solution.
On the other hand, Apple does not collect any information about your interaction with the app. One of their main talking points is that they don't know much about their users and they don't try to find out more. This sets them apart from companies like Google and Facebook, where using the social login service can seem a bit two-way for your personal data.
Theoretically, you must know and approve the traffic between Facebook and the application. In practice, however, having so much user data involved, especially when both the login provider and the application want to use it, means that the relationship between the two usually doesn't end at "Hey, here's a token that proves that the user is the same one who owns that Facebook account. This is where Apple aims to be different:neither they nor the app know much about you, and they stay out the door once you log into the app.
If you want to use Apple as your social login provider, you'll have to wait for the apps you use to offer it. iOS apps that offer other social logins (like Google or Twitter) will be required by Apple to implement the system by April 2020, apps that only use a username/password system password don't have to make changes if they don't want to. .
Outside of the Apple ecosystem it will probably take a little longer to implement, but you'll be able to sign in with Apple on web apps and even Android using "Sign in with Apple JS" which is the JavaScript web version of iOS functionality. Anyone can sign up for an Apple ID, but to use the service you need to enable two-factor authentication on an Apple device, which currently excludes anyone outside of the Apple hardware camp.
However, some apps and sites are already using the service, and given Apple's aggressive strategy for spreading its solution, you'll likely see it pop up on the internet.
It's not a complete substitute for a password manager, but if Sign in with Apple delivers on its privacy promises, it'll likely reduce the number of people using something like Apple's iCloud Keychain. You don't have to worry about extensions or software to log into an account on another device, and you can hide behind randomly generated emails if you want. If it becomes available to users of non-Apple devices as well, Sign in with Apple could become a standard option alongside Facebook and Google.
Image Credits:Singapore Road Sign, Apple Logo, My iPhone Apps, User Privacy Icon
