Twitter has officially released Digits Login for Web, the latest interaction of Digits that extends the SMS-based login system to mobile app's sites powered by Digits.
During Flight 2014 that took place last October, Twitter unveiled Digit as part of the company's new toolset called Fabric. This password replacement solution attempts to solve the password management problem by providing developers a single sign-on solution based on phone numbers instead of traditional username/password combination. With a few lines of code, developers can link their mobile applications to the Digits infrastructure, allowing users to login using their mobile phones. When a user initiates the authentication flow, Digits send a one-time use SMS confirmation code to complete the sign in.
Up until now, this feature was only available to iOS and Android but with this release, apps companion’s websites can take advantage of Digits using a JavaScript SDK.
In the post where Digits Login for Web was revealed, Manuel Deschamps, Engineer at Digits says that:
With Digits Login for Web, you can implement a simple and secure login on your app’s website with just a few lines of code. To help you preserve the mobile-first experience of your service, your users still sign up first through your mobile app, as they normally would, before they can log in to your site. But now, not only can Digits help you drive more downloads for your app, it also enables you to bring your mobile service onto the web — ensuring a consistent identity experience across platforms.
The authentication process is done like in mobile apps. Users receive a confirmation code via SMS on their phones and they type it into the browser window. Once a user has successfully authenticated via a website that uses Digits, the system will omit SMS confirmation the next time he logs into any other sites powered by Digits. In Digits website, users can control which applications have access to Digits.
About the JavaScript SDK, Manuel Deschamps wrote the following:
To install, simply include our JavaScript SDK in your web application, and attach it to your login button of choice. Our library is cached, self-contained and minimal in memory footprint; you do not have to include any other third-party libraries. And as we release new features, our SDK will auto-update without ever breaking your site.