I’m developing a PHP website and I need to enable user authentication. I want to allow users to log in using their existing accounts from Google, Yahoo, or Facebook instead of making new accounts on my site.
I’m not interested in using OpenID solutions. I would like to ask for recommendations on what PHP libraries or APIs will facilitate connecting with these social media platforms for user authentication.
What’s the best way to manage the OAuth process for these different providers? Should I use different libraries for each one, or is there a single solution that can work for all three?
Additionally, I would like to know how to handle user data after they log in. Do I need to store their profile details in my own database or can I trust the external providers to manage that information?
I would greatly appreciate any code examples or a step-by-step tutorial, as I’m new to implementing social login features.
hybridauth is an awesome choice! I’ve tried it too, super easy to set up with google, fb, and yahoo. Just remember to save user info in your db; it’s safer than relying on the platforms for sessions!
Been there myself last year building a client portal. Tried several approaches and ended up with Firebase Authentication - it supports all three providers you mentioned. Setup’s surprisingly easy - just configure each provider in the Firebase console, then use their PHP SDK for the auth flow. What I love about Firebase is it handles all the OAuth mess behind the scenes. You don’t have to deal with managing tokens or different provider specs. For user data, I go hybrid. Store basic stuff locally (user ID, email, display name) for quick access and sessions, but cache extra profile data from providers when I need it. Best of both worlds - fast local queries for core features and rich profile data when required. Key thing I learned: always treat the external provider as your auth source of truth, but keep your own user records for app-specific stuff like preferences, roles, and activity logs.
I’ve been working with OAuth for years and highly recommend the League OAuth2 Client package. It gives you a unified interface for multiple providers while staying flexible for each platform’s quirks. The core library handles basic OAuth flow, then you just add separate provider packages for Google, Facebook, Yahoo, etc. For user data - definitely store essential profile info in your local database. Set up a users table with provider ID, email, name, and provider type. This gives you way better control over sessions and keeps your app running even when external providers have issues. Only use external services for authentication, not as your main user data store. One thing to watch out for: account linking. Users will try registering with different providers using the same email. You’ll need to decide whether to auto-merge these accounts or make them verify manually.