Social Sign-On: Convenience or Privacy Invasion?

Social Sign-On
I don’t know about you, but I find registering for an account online very trouble-some. There are so many fields to fill in and it just takes so much time. Now, there is a solution to that, Social Sign-on. Social sign-on allows users to register on E-commerce sites using their existing account, primarily Facebook. Social sign-on/sign-in creates convenience for users so they only have to remember their Facebook username and password, rather than one set per site. It will also be easier for users to share their activity or thoughts for the site on Facebook.

Privacy Invasion?

From retailers’ perspective, they now have access to users’ information such as their profile, interests, likes, comments, etc. Retailers can use the information to tailor promotion and gain brand loyalty. This is information retailers would not be able to retrieve from normal registration.

This raises the privacy flag once again. It is not the first time that social media, primarily Facebook, has privacy issues. With the new Social sign-on phenomenon, users’ information on Facebook will not only be seen by friends, Facebook and Facebook application developers, but also many retailers out there. Retailers can track down your likes and your comments to see what you are into lately and customize their promotional strategy accordingly. The negative effect of this feature is that retailers can now promote to you through different methods. Many people put their email, phone number and other personal information on Facebook. Retails can utilize these information to market their products to users.

Users who use social sign-on may not know their personal information is being releaed to retailers. There may be conditions and terms relating to using social sign-on, but not many people read it.

In a survey done by eMarketer.com, 69% of the interviewed E-commerce retailers said they have implemented or in the planning process to implement Social Sign on.  This trend is here to stay, but whether it can balance convenience and privacy is still a question that needs to be answered.

Source: Socialtimes.com, eMarketer.com