Facebook hopes to kill the username and password

At its F8 developer conference, Facebook announced Account Kit, a new way for app developers to let users sign up for services with an email or phone number, no username or password required.

An extension of the existing Facebook login system, Account Kit is designed for developers who want an easy way for users to create accounts without having to sign in using Facebook.

Account Kit lets developers drop in code that will speed up the account-creation process. Instead, a user can use an email address or phone number. Users will receive a confirmation message via SMS or email to get setup.

If this sounds a lot like Digits -- which is part of Twitter’s Fabric development platform -- that’s because it is.

The idea is to reduce the friction it takes to sign up for an account within an app. And although we’re sure Facebook would prefer that users sign up for an app with a Facebook account (app developers would probably prefer that too), solving the problem of user sign-ups is important. And if Account Kit can help with that, it ultimately means more developers are using Facebook’s developer tools and platforms.

Account Kit is available for iOS, Android and web and mobile web.

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