Gmail adds OAuth support for Microsoft and Yahoo email accounts

Google is improving security for non-Google email accounts used with the Gmail Android app.

Support for third-party email services arrived to Gmail for Android back in March, making it possible to access all your email accounts in one place and rendering the old Email app redundant in the process. Now Google is enhancing the security of said third-party accounts with the addition of OAuth support, starting with Microsoft (Outlook.com) and Yahoo.

OAuth is an open authentication standard widely used on the web, that makes it possible to grant an app “secure delegated access” to a server, without actually transmitting the credentials. According to the Gmail team, using OAuth makes authentication more secure and enables some extra features, like two-step verification and account recovery.

No word for now on OAuth support coming for other email providers.

The feature is part of an update currently hitting Gmail – you can check for an update on the Play Store, but as usual Google has not provided a changelog that reveals other modifications brought to the app. Also as usual, “several bug fixes and performance improvements” are promised for the new version.