With our latest additions to the network's social sign-in options, I figured i do a bit of exploration of the blogosphere to see what types of discussions are occurring regarding the security concerns of social sign in, if any.  Naturally, I am always concerned with making sure that Land Surveyors United members are not only protected from potential security concerns, but also shielded from them.  We have many professionals on the network who work for and with the government and with that said, let's discuss the safety of social logins.

So Is Social Login Safe?

The simple answer is YES. The long answer is slightly more complicated. Social Login is typically very safe with regards to your personal data getting into the wrong hands. That said, using Social Login to sign-up for a website simply opens a user up to yet another API call that’s transferring personal data between his social network and your website. There’s always a little risk that something might happen that will either cause the API call to break and data to be leaked or for someone tapping into it and stealing data. All of this being said, there’s also safety concerns for any type of registration process whereby consumers provide their personal data to a company/website. Social Login is typically extremely safe, but it does open consumers up to just another avenue for their personal data to fall into the wrong hands.

In my opinion the risk of social sign in is pretty low.  In fact, social sign in using an API is actually safer than logging in with a manually typed password.  If a key-logger was to hack into your computer, god-forbid, the act of typing in your password is a lot more vulnerable to attack than a single click sign-in.

Social Log-In is Convenient For Surveyors On-the-Go

The ability to simultaneously update your social media profiles is ideal for the professional on the go (who wants to appear as though they are behind the computer more than they actually are).  Building your online presence on the major social platforms is key for being found in search engines.  This is why I have spent hundreds of hours making sure this convenience translates into your real world activities.

Will you add Social Login to your website? Depending on your needs, integrating Social Login into your website will either be pretty quick and easy (think WordPress plugin), or a little more time-consuming and/or expensive. That said, no matter how the integration process plays out for you, one thing is pretty clear, your users will appreciate it and more people will sign-up for an account on your website. Let us know if you are currently using Social Login and what you think about it by leaving a comment below. If you aren’t currently using Social Login, do you think you’ll look into integrating it into your website?

You guys can all rest assured that I stay up-to-date on all of this security and social stuff and will always guide you as I would my own family. 

What are your thoughts on social log-ins?