Google supports and recommends an open standard for authorization called “OAuth”.
How it works
- The application sends you to the Google Website
- You log in to Google, if not already logged in, and you grant access to only the services you wish the application to have access to
- The application gets a “token” that it saves safely on your computer, and uses each time you request data both for that session and future sessions
Google has clearly stated that this is the preferred method for connecting to Google applications such as Google Analytics. From a recent Google Analytics blog post:
“The long-lived token lasts forever and can be revoked by the user through the Google Accounts interface. This routine is more secure because a user can revoke the token and prevent an application from accessing their data at any time.
Obviously OAuth For Installed Apps is a better way to generate authorization tokens.”
Analytics Canvas uses this standard.
Easy to connect, grant only the access you want.
It is a vastly better solution than performing a full login every time because when you give your user name and password, you are granting access to everything linked to your Google account- email, google apps, docs, calendar, any other accounts on other websites you’ve linked, everything.
But when you save the Google Analytics specific token using Analytics Canvas, you’ve granted exactly the right amount of access, and you can revoke it at any time.
Easy to remove permission
Permission for Analytics Canvas to access your Google account can be revoked at anytime through your Google account go to www.google.com and select Settings, then “Google Account settings”:
You will then see in the middle of the accounts setting page a section called “Personal Settings” and at the top of that “Security”
By selecting “Authorizing applications & sites” you can revoke any access granted.
At nModal we respect your security and privacy, and will continue to keep up to date on the latest and most recommended standards, working closely with providers like Google to give you powerful, easy-to-use tools.