When you encounter a website or mobile app that requires you to log in or register, do you use your social media account to do so?  If you answered “yes,” you are part of a growing majority according to a Gigya survey, which found that social login use is on the rise as a result of consumers’ demands for convenience.

Gigya provides social login technology to web sites and mobile app developers.  For its 2014 State of Consumer Privacy & Personalization survey, Gigya surveyed 2,000 US and 2,000 UK adults ages 18 to 55 about their social login usage.  According to the survey, 77% of US respondents (up from 53% in 2012) and 60% of UK respondents have logged into a website or mobile app using a social network account.  Unsurprisingly, the top two reasons driving respondents’ use of a social login are:

• “I don’t want to spend time filling in registration forms” (53% of US respondents, 60% of UK respondents)

• “I don’t want to create and remember another username and password” (47% of US respondents, 46% of UK respondents)

Social login users and social login users non-users have different perceptions about the security of their information submitted through a social login.  For US respondents who reported that they have “never” used a social login, the primary reason is the fear that the website or mobile app will sell their data.  However, 21% of US respondents reported that they use social logins because they feel that their personal data is better protected when using a social login.  Over 80% of both US and UK respondents reported abandoning an online registration form because of the amount and/or type of information requested.