How does social login with MetaMask work?

MetaMask's social login lets users create a wallet by signing in with Google, Apple, or Telegram and choosing a password, instead of writing down a 12-word Secret Recovery Phrase (SRP). The SRP is encrypted and stored online, with the encryption key split across multiple key share holders using Shamir Secret Sharing, so no single party other than the user can reconstruct it. Recovery on a new device requires the login plus the correct password, and the key share holders rate-limit password guessing attempts. The article notes that the password becomes the critical security element, and that linked social accounts cannot be disconnected from the wallet addresses.