Slack is upping its game with a new way to sign into other applications, further challenging rival platforms.
The work chat app is already quite popular, amassing 2.7 million daily active users, because it offers a simple and effective way for people to collaborate with co-workers on various projects.
One of the main benefits of Slack is that you can easily integrate a slew of other applications. Slack is now moving forward with its new "Sign in with Slack" option, widening its reach to better compete with rivals.
The new feature allows users to use their Slack credentials to sign in and use other applications. It's not just about logging in either, as this feature keeps Slack teams connected across all apps they use for work.
"When a user signs up for your app using Sign in with Slack, they'll be instantly connected to their teammates within your product. For customers, this is an invisible but delightful feature," says Slack. "It exemplifies our mission in action - making people's working lives simpler, more pleasant, and more productive - by keeping teams effortlessly in sync."
This new functionality is basically Slack's answer to Facebook Login, previously called Facebook Connect. Slack also seems to be gunning for Facebook at Work.
The new Sign in with Slack feature is launching with a number of partners, including Quip (see image above), Kifi, Figma, Officevibe, Slackline and Smooz.
Developers, meanwhile, can benefit from this feature because they can now offer apps that allow users to sign in with their Slack identities. This, in turn, would boost their chances of getting more users to try out their apps and become regular users.
At the same time, companies can benefit from this new feature by requesting access to users' Slack information, avatars and others such, and using that info to personalize their apps.
Users will have to authorize Slack's access to their information whenever signing into an app with Slack. Depending on what developers are asking for, users will have to share more or less information, but they'll be in control of what they choose to share.
Slack highlights that its new sign-in feature is secure, so users need not to worry about having their information compromised. The company promises to manage two-factor authentication, as well as SSO providers.
