Hacker Neue

Preferences
StrandedKitty parent
There's a big upside to Google One Tap. It makes users sign up for your product like crazy.

I recently added it to a SaaS web app I'm working on, and the number of new sign ups went up 8x overnight. You don't necessarily have to create an account to use the minimal functionalty of our app, but after signing up you do get some perks, and we get a way to communicate with the user through email. So I think it can be beneficial for both parties.

Sophira
You're assuming that the user actually wants to sign up. In reality, it's likely that they're just clicking "Continue" in order to get rid of the dialog and couldn't care less about a signup.
IshKebab
Users want to use the site and don't care whether or not they are signed up. They do care about going through tedious registration forms and email verification codes. That's why sign-ups go up so much - users know they won't have to deal with the registration tedium.
al_borland
They trade that for the tedium of dealing with being automatically added to email lists for sites they don’t even remember signing up for and only used one time.

All the spam email is why I’m very picky where I choose to register.

scarface_74
That’s why I register to sites with Apple using Hide my Email and I can just disable forwarding for the one burner email that spam is coming from.
encom
I've encountered more than a few places that block temp emails like 10minutemail etc. It's so infuriating.
4 More Comments →
CalRobert
In fairness, they never said they thought the user signups were intentional..
rvnx
Behind it, add one-click Stripe “free trial” and you boosted your revenues at zero cost.

Maybe even call this button “Accept all”, like these cookie banners

tonyhart7
it still ads up in metric yooo, who tf didnt like when the metric numbers goes up????

also you must understand, most people are dumb as shit if you not showing it to the face, then prolly would not notice

that's why big tech not listening to HN user base because they know that its hard to fool nerd

bayindirh
But the number goes up, the line goes up. VCs like that, it's growth!!!

P.S.: This is obvious irony, I don't support this DataGrab(TM), fyi.

BLKNSLVR
Big upside to the provider, not necessarily the consumer.

Perplexity has a "sign in with Google" pop up that loads late, often when I've already started typing in my query, and thus blocks the rest of my typing, negatively affecting the UX of the service. So I looked up how to get the fuck rid of it and added that method to uBlock Origin, and now I'm a happy (freeloading) chappy.

ehnto
The delayed focus capture is the most annoying part. I'll be in the middle of typing or scrolling with the keyboard when it steals focus. I type pretty fast, so sometimes I've punched in a bunch of text before realising it all vanished into the popups frame.

Since shifting to firefox it's not a big deal as I have more control, vimium can stop focus being stolen and ublock can block the in web versions of the popups. Which if Googlers are reading, I made the swap after a decade of Chrome use because of your continued anti-user, anti-privacy stewardship of the product. Your trajectory is obvious. I hope the products leadership gets the message some day, but I suspect it's financially working out just fine.

skydhash
Do they pay for anything? I'm all for reducing login friction. But that popup is like people that accost you in the street trying to enlist you into their cult.
sneak
…until the user loses access to their Google account with no recourse and you have no secondary way to authenticate them.
skybrian
Also true if I use my gmail address. I'll confess that for many websites I don't care that much. Depending on a password manager would be better, though.

Semi-related anecdote: I lost my Reddit account to a cryptocurrency spammer due to a weak password and had to create another, so I lost my preferred username. Annoying but not a huge deal. (Reddit did freeze the old account but wouldn't give it back.)

bravesoul2
No. You just cant password reset if you lose access to email. You can still log in.
JambalayaJimbo
The email is ultimately the second factor that lets you make important changes to the account in many cases. For example, changing your password. It's more important than the password in nearly every security critical account I have.
joecool1029
This is not always the case. Reddit sometimes locks the account until you verify it or reset the password by email. Happened with my email pointed at a .tk domain and I had to call freenom a bunch to get the domain back.
reddalo
>Reddit sometimes locks the account until you verify it or reset the password by email.

I still remember when you could create Reddit accounts without an email...

2 More Comments →
layer8
That’s why you shouldn’t be using a Gmail address, and instead have your own domain for email.
tomschwiha
I personally have my personal email as Google account email, so even when I lose my access to google I am still in control of my domain (and email).
edoceo
And still couldn't sign-in-with-google. On an email linked that way, so no password recovery. Would likely be a new account - with bonus "that address is already in use" problem.
tomschwiha
I agree, there may be an additional step necessary if the page doesn't handle this case already, but this way you can still prove (more easily) ownership to the support.
forkerenok
> the number of new sign ups went up 8x overnight.

What's the number if you adjust for quality of signups? E.g. how many people convert and how many people stay on and convert later.

buzzerbetrayed
> Beneficial to both parties

Ah yes, because who doesn’t want more emails from a sites they’ve visited one time

immibis
You're both right. If an account on your service is completely meaningless, I'd rather press one button than type my email, choose a password and go through a stupid email confirmation workflow. Also, it's very annoying that you need an account at all.
tsoukase
Last month I subscribed to DAZN TV through Google in order to watch a FIFA world football semifinal match. I deleted the third party allowance a week later. The final was free globally.
qwertox
> So I think it can be beneficial for both parties.

No. Because those who don't want to sign up do get bothered by that popup which also reminds them of the fact that Google just tracked that visit and wants you to use Google to sign up on that page.

The chuzpe it takes to do that, from part of the website owner and Google...

meindnoch
>and we get a way to communicate with the user through email.

Don't call your spam "communication".

38 (dead)

This item has no comments currently.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Story Lists

j
Next story
k
Previous story
Shift+j
Last story
Shift+k
First story
o Enter
Go to story URL
c
Go to comments
u
Go to author

Navigation

Shift+t
Go to top stories
Shift+n
Go to new stories
Shift+b
Go to best stories
Shift+a
Go to Ask HN
Shift+s
Go to Show HN

Miscellaneous

?
Show this modal