Yahoo 'to support' OpenID

10 January 2008

OpenID appears to be gaining more widespread support, after reports this week that Yahoo! is testing its use.

PCWorld magazine reports that code contained in pages on the photo-sharing site Flickr, which Yahoo! owns, could allow account holders to use their Flickr login for other OpenID sites. A Yahoo! Subdomain, me.yahoo.com, appears to be set up for use in OpenID verification.

The search giant is yet to comment, but should the story prove true, Yahoo! would become the latest high-profile internet player to adopt OpenID – already supported by companies including Microsoft, Google and the blog platform Wordpress.

The open-source authentication allows secure website logins using a single set of credentials. It is described as a decentralised standard, where no one organisation controls all of the identity information.

Web consultant Simon Willison, who last year launched a site linking Yahoo! identities with OpenID identities, wrote: "I expect Yahoo's implementation to be a major influence in encouraging OpenID 2 adoption."

Category: Other, Yahoo