4 in 10 Use Facebook for Social Sign-in

July 29, 2011

About four in 10 (39%) users of the Janrain Engage social connection service used Facebook for social sign-in (SSI) during Q2 2011, according to data from Janrain. This was 30% more than the 30% of users who used number two SSI site Google.

Yahoo (12%) and Twitter (8%) remain well behind in third and fourth place, respectively. SSI allows users to sign into a restricted access site using existing sign-in data, rather than having to create a new account.

Facebook Ascends Since Mid-2010

Tracking quarterly SSI preferences since Q4 2009, Janrain finds Facebook, after losing popularity between Q4 2009 and Q1 2010, began a dramatic ascent in SSI usage during Q2 2010, hitting 30% in Q4 2010. In Q1 2011, previous number one Google sharply lost close to 10 percentage points of SSI usage as Facebook surged past it to claim the number one spot.

The other most interesting SSI trends in the past seven quarters have been slight but steady growth in Twitter use and a dramatic drop in use of combined “Other” social networks for SSI.

Facebook Jumps in Mobile SSI

There has been significant jump in the popularity of Facebook for social login on mobile apps in the last quarter, moving 60% from 35% in Q1 to 56% in Q2. Facebook’s growth in this segment came mostly at the expense of Google, which dropped 7%, and Twitter, which dropped 6%. Yahoo’s share dropped slightly, but it remained ahead of Twitter.

Google Passes Yahoo for Media Site SSI

On media and digital publisher sites, Facebook is the most popular choice. Yahoo’s share has declined 6% during the past year and half, but its popularity as a sign-in provider is still more pronounced in this space than in any other vertical. However, for the first time, Google has eclipsed Yahoo as the second-most- popular choice.

Other Findings

• After a consistent quarterly growth rate of 5% since Q1 2010, Facebook’s share of social sign-ins on retail sites has stabilized at a shade under 50%.
• On entertainment and gaming sites, Facebook’s leading share has declined a bit, with Google showing substantial growth and Windows Live having its best performance in any vertical with SSI share of almost 15%.
• In Europe, Facebook remains atop the list at 43%, with Google maintaining its position as the second most popular option.
• Facebook and Twitter are the leading destinations for socially shared content. 59% of users choose to share to their friends on Facebook, and 33% choose to share with their followers on Twitter.

ROI Research: Facebook Users Like Entertainment

Looking at the different kinds of companies/products Facebook users are fans of, an April 2011 study from ROI Research and Performics finds the highest percentage (46%) are fans of entertainment-related products. This category is followed by food (41%), restaurants (40%) and apparel (35%).

Service providers tend to be among the least popular categories, including categories such as educational institutions (22%), telecommunications (19%), and financial service companies (15%).