Yahoo is going to prevent folks from signing into its services using a Facebook or Google account in the future.
Currently, you can sign in without pledging any loyalty to Yahoo as such, but down the line, users will be required to have a Yahoo ID and sign in with that.
The big idea, the company claims, is to provide a streamlined experience with one Yahoo account and sign-in across all Yahoo services, allowing for better customer support, password recovery and so forth.
Exactly when this shift will occur isn’t specified, but a Yahoo spokeswoman said, “The eventual switch for all users to a Yahoo username will occur over time.”
Of course, the reason Yahoo allowed folks to sign in using their Facebook or Google credentials was to open up its services to a larger user base who might not take the time or trouble to sign on with Yahoo.
The trade-off will be the loss of those people who can’t be bothered with Yahoo account creation, balanced against being able to track those who do sign on, and better personalise their Yahoo experience and build up data on those users, of course.
