Why I Avoid Social Logins (And You Should Too)
Discover the risks of social logins and why it's safer to avoid them for better privacy and control over your online accounts.
I used to use my Google or Facebook account to quickly & easily log in to websites and apps. However, I came to the conclusion that avoiding social logins is safer after learning about the risks. They can appear straightforward yet they might lead to privacy and security issues.
Instead, I now create distinct accounts. In this post, I’ll explain the risks of social logins and why it’s a good idea to avoid Social Logins.
Social Logins Put Your Entire Online Security at Risk
Despite the convenience of social logins, they come with a major risk—they create a single point of failure. You risk losing access to all associated services if your primary social account is compromised, suspended or even goes offline.
Using a single account for several logins is dangerous because even minor problems could result in your account being locked out. I therefore favor email & password or passwordless login. In this manner, I won’t lose access to everything in event that my primary account experiences an issue.
You Lose Control Over Your Accounts
Another reason to avoid social logins is that they tie your accounts to a third-party provider like Google, Apple, or Facebook. If your social account gets restricted, suspended or disabled you could lose access to all linked services.
You keep control over your accounts and reduce the possibility of getting locked out as a result of decisions made by social login providers by using email-based logins with secure passwords.
Social Logins Reduce Your Privacy
Using social logins means giving up online anonymity since all your accounts are linked to a single identity. Your social login provider tracks the apps and services you use, building a detailed profile of your online activity. Additionally, linked accounts can access personal details like your name and email, which may not always be ideal.
To make things worse, some providers enforce real-name policies, further limiting privacy. By avoiding social logins, I can create anonymous accounts using burner email addresses. This is especially useful when testing apps and services I don’t fully trust or plan to use long-term.
Social Logins Make Switching Providers Hard
The fact that social logins make it harder to transfer providers is one of the main reasons to avoid them. For instance: it is difficult to move to Google or another supplier after signing up with Apple. I’ve personally experienced this inconvenience, therefore I now refrain from logging onto social media until it’s absolutely required.
Although social logins speed up sign-up process, I prefer passwordless or email-and-password logins. I now have complete control over my accounts & am free to change providers at any time.
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Pros and Cons of Social Logins
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| 🕒 Quick and easy login | 🔓 Risk if your social account is hacked |
| 🔑 No need to remember passwords | ❌ You lose control if the account is suspended |
| 📝 Easy sign-up process | 🕵️♂️ Less privacy, as everything is linked to one account |
| ✅ Trusted providers (Google, FB) | 🔄 Hard to switch to another login provider |
| ⚡ Convenient for many services | 👁️ Tracks your online activity |
FAQs
1. Why are social logins not safe?
You risk losing access to all of the accounts connected to your primary social media account if it is compromised, suspended, or ceases to function.
2. Do social logins track what I do online?
Yes. Social login providers can see which apps and websites you use and may share this information with other companies.
3. What is a better option than social logins?
Using email and password or passwordless login (like one-time codes or fingerprints) gives you more control and keeps your accounts safer.
4. Can I change to another login provider later?
No, it is hard to switch. If you sign in with Apple, for example you cannot easily move to Google or another provider later.
5. Do social logins take away my privacy?
Yes. Social logins make it difficult to maintain privacy because they link all of your accounts to a single identity. Your privacy may be further compromised by certain providers that even demand genuine names.
