[Plugin: Social Login] Important to note

Yes, well, this is true of most social media nowadays, and this plugin only offers this login as one of several login options. For some people, logging directly through social media provides a way of integrating their surfing experiences with their social networks. I take it that you don’t object to this, Raphael?

Well, I dislike all kinds of invisible tracking, but that is not the point here.

WP and all the plugins listed in the directory are GPL licensed. I think it is only fair that a plugin that uses proprietary services to state so clearly.

My problem is this: site owners might the plugin and users login with their Facebook (or whatever) account. At no point does anyone see or intend that some other corporation gets data, too. It is dishonest to hide that fact.

The plugin’s affiliation has since been made clear, so I have nothing to complain about anymore. Of course, they don’t clearly say “We (can) track your visitors now”, but they can probably not be expected to (them being a company). People are hopefully clever enough to infer that themselves. However, it is site visitors I am concerned about: do site owners tell their visitors/customers that by using the site, they can be tracked by a third party? Probably not.

Millions of sites post tracking cookies all the time, so if you have cookies enabled, chances are, you are being tracked by somebody. It’s just the world we live in. If you logon via a 3rd party, then you can expect to be tracked. Irony is, Raphael, that Facebook is doing far more tracking of you anyway whenever you use their site or ‘like’ something on another site. It’s part of being in the digital world – in the same way, no-one asks for the adverts all along the highway!

You miss the point. If I use Facebook features I can expect Facebook to track me. In this case, however, a third party tracks me, too, when I user Facebook (or whatever service) without me knowing. I am not even sure that is legal.

By the way, I block those pesky Facebook, Google+ and Twitter buttons categorically. So no, they can’t track me that way. But that is a personal choice, I guess.