Yahoo will yank support for Google or Facebook login credentials, meaning users will have to revert back to their Yahoo IDs to sign into services such as Flickr.
The change will roll out gradually and eventually apply to all Yahoo services, according to a Yahoo spokeswoman who couldn’t give an exact timeframe. New users will have to sign up for a Yahoo ID if they want to use any of its services.
The move marks the latest change to Yahoo by CEO Marissa Mayer, who is striving to spark fresh interest in the company’s web services and revive its stagnant revenue.
“Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience,” the company said in a statement, noting that the new process “will allow us to offer the best personalised experience to everyone”.
The first Yahoo service to require the new sign-in process is Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick’Em, a service focused on the NCAA college basketball tournament which kicks off later this month, as noted by BetaNews.
Since Mayer took the reins in 2012, the company has rolled out new versions of many of its key products, including Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Finance. Last year, Yahoo announced a program to recycle inactive Yahoo user IDs, letting new users claim email addresses that have not been used for more than 12 months.
In ditching Facebook and Google sign-in features, Mayer, will reverse a strategy adopted by Yahoo in 2010 and 2011 under then CEO Carol Bartz.
The change to the Tourney Pick’Em sign-in process began this week, the Yahoo spokeswoman said, noting that users could still access other services with Google or Facebook ID for now.
The sign-in buttons for Facebook and Google will eventually be removed from all Yahoo properties, the Yahoo spokeswoman.
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