Tuesday, March 29, 2022

No More Passwords

Plates Across America sign in page
New Sign In Screen

As we reconsidered redesigning Plates Across America®,, it dawned on us that the traditional email + password login scheme was not a good pattern for our game. People do not need the cognitive overhead of managing a password for a light, recreational game. They are more likely than not to forget it and then have to be subjected to the whole password reset email/awkwardness.

In general, passwords are quickly becoming obsolete with many sites always emailing you a "security code" anyway. Why not do away with the password altogether and embrace email as the authentication method?  Email has its security flaws for sure, but it is much better than it used to be, so much so that it is becoming universally used as an authentication method. If we were a bank, email alone would not suffice, but we are a game and we are not storing any important data for our players. 

So we have ditched passwords at Plates Across America® and never looked back. The game should keep you logged in for a healthy amount of time, but if you move to a different device or restart your computer or browser, we'll simply email you a 6 digit access code to use to log back in. Keeps things simpler for us and our players.

security code screen
New Screen for the Access Code Entry


I hope our players agree that this is a simpler method, but send us feedback about your thoughts on the topic. Plates Across America ® 

Happy Travels!


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