How much time do you waste logging in to your favorite websites? The answer is likely way too much—and that doesn’t count the energy expended trying to remember passwords and logins.
Enter OpenID, a service that allows you to use info from one of your existing accounts to sign in to millions of websites, without having to create a new username and password.
The net result is that the login process is accelerated, and you no longer have to remember a litany of passwords. And, since OpenID is a decentralized standard, it gives you greater control over your online identity.
You can also store basic profile information (name, birth date and address) on your OpenID, which can be used to pre-populate registration forms, saving time and frustration.
If you’re a registered user of Yahoo!, Google/Gmail, Facebook, Twitter or AOL (along with a dozen other sites), you already have an OpenID. But you probably didn’t realize it.
When visiting a site, look for the “Sign In With OpenID” button. You’ll enter your OpenID (which will be a url associated with whichever account you are using).
Your browser will take you from the web site you are visiting to your OpenID provider’s web site (be it Google, Yahoo! Or what have you). You provider will confirm you are, in fact, you.
You’ll tell your provider that the original web site can use your identity. For every visit thereafter to that site you’ll be automatically logged in through your OpenID.
It’s kind of like having a passport that allows you to travel the Internet, hassle-free.