Until about a month ago, shoppers on Dell’s (NYSE:DELL) website looking for a new laptop could log in using their Facebook (NASDAQ:META) credentials to avoid creating a new username and password. That option is now gone.
Dell isn’t alone. Other big brands, including Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), Ford Motor (NYSE:F), Pottery Barn, Nike (NYSE:NKE), Patagonia, Match and Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) video-streaming service Twitch have removed the ability to sign on with Facebook. It’s a marked departure from just a few years ago, when the Facebook login was plastered all over the internet, often alongside buttons that let you sign in with Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) or LinkedIn.
Dell’s chief digital and chief information officer said people stopped using social logins, for reasons that include concerns over security, privacy and data-sharing.
The disappearing login is the latest sign of Facebook’s diminishing influence on the internet following more than a decade of spectacular growth. In the past year, the company’s business has been beset by Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS privacy change, which made it harder to target ads, a deteriorating economy, competition from short-video service TikTok, and reputational damage after a whistleblower leaked documents showing Facebook knew of the harm caused by many of its products.
META shares popped $3.04, or 1.9%, to $165.10.
