Posted by Brian Daugherty, Product Solutions Engineer

In order to protect users' personal information across the web, Google continues to make signing into apps and services secure by default. Delivering on this promise, we recently announced Google Identity Services, our new family of Identity APIs that consolidate multiple identity offerings under one software development kit (SDK). As we move to further simplify the number of sign-in methods and user experience we are announcing the deprecation of the JavaScript based Google Platform Library for web apps and plan to fully retire it on March 31, 2023.

What does this mean for you?

• Evaluate if you are affected by the deprecation.
• Complete your migration before March 31, 2023, after which the Google Platform Library will no longer be available for download. If you’re making the switch, we’ve provided a Sign In With Google migration guide to help you out.

Are you affected?

The deprecation applies only to web apps using the Google Sign-in JavaScript library. If your web pages currently load the Google Platform Library (apis.google.com/js/platform.js), you are affected and need to migrate to the newer Sign In With Google client library.

Your suite of apps and platforms may be using the Google Platform Library to support authentication only flows for user sign-in, an authorization flow for data-sharing (for example, sharing a user’s calendar or photos), or both at the same time. The migration includes both authentication and authorization flows.

Your suite of apps and platforms may also be using multiple methods of authentication and authorization offered by Google. The following are NOT affected by this deprecation announcement:

• Android or iOS native app SDKs,
• apps or platforms directly calling Google’s OAuth2 or OpenID services.

Changes and benefits

As part of our ongoing effort to improve user sign-in we released a new JavaScript library for Sign In With Google. In addition to prior authentication and authorization functionality, it also offers a new user experience to improve user visibility, trust and decrease friction during sign-in.

Migration to our new JavaScript library offers a number of benefits, some of which are:

• Low-friction user sign-in and sign-up.
• Providing your users with a consistent sign-in experience across the web.
• Adding a secure sign-in method to your site using either HTML or JavaScript.

Examples of what users will see:

See the Google Identity Services product announcement for more.

How to get help

Visit our developer site for more information and check out the google-signin tag on Stack Overflow for technical assistance. Offer your suggestions and feedback using [email protected].

Posted by Filip Verley (Product Manager, Google Identity)

We strive to make every one of our products private by design and secure by default, with built-in protections that keep our users safe. But the most common online security vulnerability occurs beyond our own products, where users sign in to online accounts using bad passwords. Every day millions of passwords are exposed in data breaches putting users’ personal information at risk. At Google, keeping users safe online is our top priority, so we continuously invest in new tools and features to keep their personal information secure.

Today we are launching our new family of Identity APIs called Google Identity Services, which consolidates multiple identity offerings under one software development kit (SDK). This SDK includes the Sign in with Google button as well as One Tap, a new low-friction authentication prompt. Sign in with Google and One Tap use secure tokens, rather than passwords, to sign users into partner websites and apps.

We set out on this journey to deliver an identity solution without compromising privacy and security, and we’ve done just that. With the new Google Identity Services, we've combined Google's industry leading security with the ultimate convenience of easy sign in to deliver an experience that keeps users safe, while facilitating new user acquisition and seamless sign in for returning users.

What’s new for you

One Tap is a proactive and seamless sign in prompt that helps users safely and securely access their personalized content when they use your website or app. Unlike the traditional sign in button, One Tap prompts users on any page, so users do not need to be redirected to a landing page that derails the user’s navigation intent. The One Tap prompt will slide down from the top right of a website, and up from the bottom up on a mobile device. Users can sign in to or sign up using just one tap, without having to remember their credentials or to create a password. We’ve seen tremendous results from our partners as our authentication solutions dramatically decrease friction and increase the rate at which users sign in and sign up across websites and apps.

One Tap prompts on mobile device from the bottom up

Our Google Identity Services products are also engineered to protect against vulnerabilities like click-jacking, pixel tracking, and other threats, which help give users peace of mind when they navigate across your website and app. Because every Google Account leverages our robust anti-abuse and anti-fraud system, using Google Identity Services will mitigate against duplicate and fraudulent accounts, thus decreasing your support burden.

In addition, we’re rolling out an improved Sign in with Google button that displays personalized user details for returning users, and displays the user account that is being selected. The Sign in with Google button also has improved UI/UX consistency across the web, elevating user trust and security across your platform.

Personalized Sign in with Google button, displayed in a blue or white background

We recently worked with Reddit to implement both the Sign in with Google button and the One Tap prompt, which increased both new user sign up and returning user conversion by almost 2X. You can also read how Pinterest successfully implemented Google Identity Services and saw a positive impact on both sign in and sign ups.

One Tap prompt surfaces on top right of Reddit website

How to get started

We’ve worked diligently to simplify the implementation process for our developers, requiring minimal code, and we’re eager for you to take advantage of our new suite of APIs to help grow your business. To start implementing the new Google Identity Services, head to our developer site for technical documentation, and check out the google-signin tag on Stack Overflow for technical assistance.