loginamazonAmazon.com customers will be able to use their Amazon login credentials to sign in to third-party websites, apps and games under a new initiative launched by the Seattle company this morning.

The system, “Login with Amazon,” will compete with authentication services from Facebook, Twitter, Google and others in an attempt to become a ubiquitous online sign-in mechanism. As with those existing services, the system will share specific user data with the developer as indicated on a “consent screen” seen by users when they first use the Amazon system to sign in to a site or app.

Login with Amazon works with Android, iOS and web apps.

Amazon is leaning on its e-commerce roots to differentiate its system. The company says its Zappos and Woot subsidiaries have experienced success as early adopters of the system, with Amazon customers more likely to buy items from Woot than people who used other login systems. In an online video targeted to developers, Amazon touts its base of more than 200 million customers — “real people who buy online,” as the video puts it.

The company says developers will be able use Login with Amazon in conjunction its systems for online payments and product ads.

This Login with Amazon FAQ page has more on the nuts-and-bolts of the service.

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