Yahoo wants to kill the password and they hope the new Yahoo! Mail app will be a nail in the coffin for what they consider an outdated way of doing things.
The release of the app coincides with the 18th birthday of Yahoo! Mail and it features a password-free sign in called Yahoo Account Key.
Yahoo says this feature will take user convenience and security to the next level. Earlier in the year, the company started offering an on-demand password that would let you sign into your Yahoo account after receiving a unique, one-use code via text message.
According to Yahoo VP Dylan Casey, “Passwords are difficult to remember and secondary sign-in verification is inconvenient and confusing.” Casey made Yahoo’s intentions clear saying, “We’re going to kill passwords altogether.”
Passwords Are going to be the thing of the past.
That sounds great…IF you have a smartphone. Many people do not. It seems like a way to cut off people who are poor or don’t want to waste money on something they don’t need to me.
Denise:
If you don’t have a smartphone, you couldn’t use the app in the first place. You’d likely still be using Yahoo on your PC through webmail which isn’t affected by this change. You might be surprised to know that majority of folks living below the poverty line have mobile phones. In fact more, poor people own smart phones than PCs.
Cynthia, your article clearly ‘implied’ that Yahoo Mail was eliminating passwords – hence the confusion, I believe. I know several of those ‘poor people’ that own the latest and greatest smart phones, but can not pay their utility bills or put proper food on the table… We do keep a ‘dumb phone’ in our 13 year old van for emergencies as if one were to break down in today’s day and age, it’s rare for anyone to stop and help, assuming you have a phone and can call for help on your own. Happy to be old and not going to be around much longer to see just where society ends up in another 20 years… Sorry, off the subject…
The company has stated that its goal is to completely eliminated passwords in the not-too-distant future. Right now, webmail is unaffected, though they do offer the choice of signing up for the one-time use password and they are still actively looking for password alternatives.
I don’t have a smartphone, I di have a iPad 4 that I won in a contest a few years ago. I have the Mail app for my Yahoo email, so I’m hoping it will still work.
Will this be available for PCs or just android devices? If so, how do you get it?
I do Not have a phone. What am I supposed to do? Why not let the computer operator (Me), choose if I want to stay with Passwords, or Not? I prefer Passwords, after all these years, and don’t have any problems remembering them. I can’t afford a Phone, at this time.
Marian:
If you don’t have a phone, then you won’t be using the Mail App – since it is only available for mobile devices. But with around half the people accessing their e-mail from their phone, this does affect a bunch of folks. Passwords won’t be vanishing from web-mail – yet. Nearly every tech company is actively looking for an alternative.
Any options for those who are blocking (not receiving)text messages, or who would not like to share their c ell phone number?
I’ve been using Yahoo Mail, as a plus subscriber, since 1998. The best version they ever had was the very first. Every “improvement” since has been noise for the sake of noise, many taking away functionality that was present early on. They, as do many software companies, continue to fix what wasn’t broken and to break other things in the process. This will work if you are using a smartphone but many of their customers do not. What does Yahoo plan for them? Their latest app improvement was nothing of the kind, simply made more convoluted what was better before they “improved” it.
It is still a password but we don’t have control of it and we have to always have a smart phone near by. How stupid do you need to be?
Completely agree: everybody just want to get your phone number
Not all “poor” or even some well-to-do folks do not have smart phones. In fact many still do not even have cell phones. If a person does not agree with another person does not necessarily mean that he is wrong.
I’m not saying the comment is wrong, I was trying to explain the increasing emphasis on mobile for companies like Yahoo. While about half of all people use their phones to access their e-mail right now, expect that number to grow increasingly. Around 66% of adult Americans have a smartphone and close to 90% have a cellphone. And why it’s natural to think that smartphones are something the poor can’t afford, they actually end up being more affordable for those with lower incomes that owning a PC. Partially because you can get substantial discounts on a phone (maybe even get it for free) with a cell contract and also because the government subsidizes phones for the poor.
I wonder why yahoo hasn’t thought of maybe using every ones social security number in place of passwords or maybe another good idea is letting people use their picture to sign in, Maybe even sign in with a webcam could also be another way to go. Or like windows 10 does a picture and you use your pointer to draw circles on your picture in 3 different areas to sign in to Windows for more security could be another great way to avoid passwords
no debates no arguments…leave MY passwords alone! end of discussion
This was an example of why I would like to kill passwords. For some reason my sign in still has the old password and I get another window that gives me the right password for this site. Why this happens I don’t really know, but it’s a little annoying. I’ve had so many problems on so many sites with password remembrance. Of course I like the security and don’t really know what the best solution is. Recently I had a problem with a credit card which cost me a fine because I could not remember that password!
I see “kill the messenger” is still alive and feisty!
I personally have nothing against ‘the messenger’, and in fact, I’m very thankful for Cynthia (as well as the others) that bring us this type of information. I may not totally agree with particular views or outlooks that some have, but what kind of country would this be if we didn’t have different thoughts and view points at times and were not allowed to express them?? If I wanted to be treated like a North Korean, I’d move there (no offense intended).
I don’t think this is a good thing – I don’t have a smart phone and don’t have need for one. I am disabled in wheelchair and homebound. Have a landline phone for all of my needs and my computer. Have not accessed my yahoo email for the past few months as it is always just spam mail but I do have lots of pics in there that I wish to keep. I once tried moving the pics but could not do so. What do I do if they get rid of the password sign on?
Gina: If you aren’t using the Yahoo Mail App on your smartphone, this doesn’t affect you. But it is important to get your pictures off there. All you have to do to move them is to click on the attachment and choose download or save.
Yahoo gets worse every time they change something. When are they goig to go out of business????????????????
Install the Yahoo app that eliminates use of passwords. Fail to put smartphone under locking PIN. Lose your phone; lose ability to prevent access to everything on your phone and now your emails, too.