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​What are you sharing when you sign in with Facebook or Google?
There are tens of thousands of apps and sites (if not more) that let you sign in with your Facebook or Google credentials. It's a faster way to log in -- and saves you the pressure of having to create and remember countless different usernames and passwords. But do you really know what you're signing over when you sign in?

Here are the basics.

Why use Facebook and Google to log into other sites or apps?

The easy answer here is convenience. Using your Facebook and Google logins saves you the effort of having to keep track of a bunch of different usernames and passwords for each app you sign into. (Because we all use unique names and strong passwords for each our various apps ... right?) So rather than having to remember your login info for apps like Pinterest, Etsy, Trip Advisor or myriad other sites and apps you may visit on occasion, all you have to do is use one of the logins you already know by heart.

Another advantage is safety. When using Google or Facebook to log in, you're leveraging the security infrastructure and protocols of those large sites, both of which monitor your account and flag suspicious activity and have better authentication capabilities than JoeShmo.com.

But what if your password gets stolen? Doesn't that just give hackers access to everything instead of just one thing?

When it comes to Gmail, your password kind of already is a hacker's way into everything. If a malicious actor gets your email password, he can request a password reset link for any apps you use. That will then be sent to the email he just hacked into. So, using your Google credentials to log in to other apps doesn't present a new security threat beyond what already is possible for a hacker with your password.

How does it work?

In essence, Google and Facebook are vouching for you. When you choose to sign into an app with either Google or Facebook, the login dialog box that pops up is actually provided by that company, not by the app you're trying to open. You put in your username and password and the site reports back to the app saying, "Yes, we know this person and have confirmed she is who she says she is. You may proceed."