Yahoo will stop users from accessing its various online services with their Facebook or Google Inc user accounts. Users will be required to register for a Yahoo ID to use any of the portal’s services including photo-sharing site Flickr and Fantasy Sports
The first Yahoo service to require the new sign-in process is Yahoo Sports Tourney Pick’Em which focuses on the NCAA college basketball tournament starting later this month. Users can still access other services using their Google or Facebook ID’s for now as the new process will be rolled out gradually..
“The change will be rolled out gradually,” a Yahoo spokeswoman said. “The sign-in buttons for Facebook and Google will eventually be removed from all Yahoo properties,” she added but refused to provide the exact date. The move is another attempt by CEO Marissa Mayer to spark fresh interest in the company’s web products and services.
“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 personalized experience to everyone. “
CEO Marissa Mayer rolled out new versions of Yahoo mail and Yahoo finance in the last year in an attempt to revive the company’s revenues. Yahoo also announced a program to recycle inactive Yahoo user IDs last year, that let new users claim email addresses that have not been used for more than 12 months. The internet giant has also integrated Yelp’s listing and reviews of local businesses into its search engine results.
Source: Reuters