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How long before we go back to dodgy apps that just ask for the user's email and password, if regular API access is so heavily restricted? I know there's an npm
by strken 8y ago
How long before we go back to dodgy apps that just ask for the user's email and password, if regular API access is so heavily restricted? I know there's an npm package out there for my bank that runs a headless browser and requires full credentials, which is terrifying.
- jonny_eh 8y agoIs there anything stopping dodgy apps from doing that now?
- Angostura 8y agoNo, but users tend to think twice and avoid them if there is a less dodgy alternative
- richdougherty 8y agoIt's more costly so it probably changes the economics of spam.
- moonka 8y agoI've noticed both on Coinbase and Ally recently that connecting other accounts for transfer lets you do it instantly in a little popup window that asks for credentials for other banks. Seems like a big step backwards in training users.
- radicaldreamer 8y agoThis is because the vast majority of banks don’t have APIs and Plaid is the service which builds these connectors.
- kalleboo 8y agoAt least the EU is trying to fix this https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/25/psd2-europes-banks-brace-for-new-eu-data-sharing-rules.html https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/25/psd2-europes-banks-brace-for...
- toephu2 8y agoGo back? When did we migrate fully? Most banks still do this (e.g., Chase).
- sgt101 8y agoI'm lost - how does what your bank does and what Twitter does connect?
- richdougherty 8y agoI think the point was that if providers like Twitter or Bank X don't provide a useful enough API then people will just skip the API entirely and use something like a headless browser.
- mathieuh 8y agoRight now if you want to connect a third party application to your most online banking accounts you need to give that third party application your online banking username/password, or log in to your online banking through the app. The suggestion is doing this for Twitter too, so instead of using an API key you would log in through an app and it would scrape the data it needs.
- strken 8y agoTwitter is currently locking down their API and making it harder for developers to access. My bank doesn't even have an API, but developers still gain programmatic access to it, only they ask users for their full credentials instead of limited, monitored, and revocable API access. My concern is that Twitter's new restrictions, and restrictions like them, will push apps towards just collecting a user's login credentials.