Yahoo hails the end of the password with mail app redesign

Yahoo has done away with traditional passwords, replacing them with a push notification system as part of a redesign of its mail app.

Yahoo Account Key has been brought about as passwords are “simple to forget and easy to hack”, according to Yahoo.

If a user wants to view their Yahoo Mail on a desktop, a push notification is sent to that individual’s mobile app and they are asked if they are trying to sign in. If they say yes, they gain access to Yahoo Mail on any other device they are using.

“Easy as tapping a button”

Yahoo says: “Account Key streamlines the sign-in process with a secure, elegant and easy-to-use interface that makes access as easy as tapping a button.

“It’s also more secure than a traditional password because once you activate Account Key – even if someone gets access to your account info – they can’t sign in.”

Account Key is one of a number of interface and user experience updates made to Yahoo Mail, which is now 18 years old.

Yahoo says better connections have been forged with Twitter, Likedin and Facebook allowing photos to be shared more easily, there are “no ugly avatars”, Contact Cards have been made more detailed, new gestures have been introduced and you can now view Yahoo News at a glance.