Sign In with Apple, which will be available on iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and the web, is one of the new features that Apple announced today. It's designed to let you sign into apps using your Apple ID for authentication purposes, offering up a convenient, privacy-focused alternative to signing in with Facebook, Google, or Twitter.
According to updated App Store guidelines that Apple provided to developers today, Sign In with Apple is going to be a mandatory feature for all apps that offer up third-party sign-in options.
Sign In with Apple will be available for beta testing this summer. It will be required as an option for users in apps that support third-party sign-in when it is commercially available later this year.
That means if an app lets you log in using your Facebook or Google logins, the app will also need to provide an alternative Sign in with Apple option too. Developers won't be required to add Sign In with Apple if logins are done just using a username and password.
Sign In with Apple authenticates a user with Face ID or Touch ID, and keeps personal information safe from app and website developers. It's designed to let Apple users create a new account in an app using a one-click button without leaking user data.
Apple's solution will provide users with an alternative to using Google or Facebook, providing convenience without sacrificing privacy.
Sign In with Apple also has one other privacy feature - it lets you create a randomly-generated email address that hides your own email address when you're signing up for an app or service.
"It's good news because we each get a unique random address, and that means you can disable any one of them at anytime when you're tired of hearing from that app," said Craig Federighi on stage this morning when introducing the feature. "It's really great."
