Tech Glossary
What is OAuth?
OAuth is a protocol specification that defines a mechanism for users of a service to grant third parties access to their data without having to share their credentials. OAuth is often used to allow users of social networks to log into other services using their existing credentials. There are two main use cases for OAuth: 1. To allow users of one service to log into another service without having to create a new account. 2. To allow third parties to access User Data on a Service in a secure manner. OAuth is often compared to other technologies used to manage logins and access to user data, such as OpenID and SAML. However, OAuth is not a replacement for these technologies, but rather a complement. OpenID and SAML are technologies used to manage logins, while OAuth is used to manage access to user data.