A recent move by tech giant Google to consolidate a number of its identity APIs into a single SDK means more developers will be able to bring passwordless authentication and a faster, simpler sign-in process to consumers.
The new Google Identity Services SDK is comprises a number of previously existing toolkits including the popular Sign in with Google button and the newer One Tap API prompt.
With One Tap, users are able to take advantage of the use of secure tokens to sign in to their accounts across the web, instead of having to rely on the more traditional username/password setup.
One Tap generates ID tokens for users with existing Google Accounts on the device they are using, with the tokens then shared with the operator of the website the user wishes to log into.
In a recent statement to news site ZDNet, Google identity team product manager Filip Verley said that with the new SDK, “[u]sers can sign in to or sign up using just one tap, without having to remember their credentials or to create a password”.
According to ZDNet, Reddit and Pinterest are among some of the more popular sites to have already implemented elements of the new SDK into their sign-in and sign-up processes, with Google reporting that Reddit has seen its returning user conversion rate almost double as a result.
Passwordless authentication has been growing rapidly in popularity over the past several months. Some experts have suggested that this growth is due in part to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as it has led to a rise in remote work and therefore an increase in demand for secure remote access for employees.
Google One Tap is currently compatible with Google’s Chrome browser on Android, macOS, Linux, and Windows 10.
Sources: ZDNet, VentureBeat
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