Understanding OAuth 2.0: Token-Based Authorization

Understanding OAuth 2.0: Token-Based Authorization

OAuth 2.0 is the industry-standard protocol for authorization, enabling secure and scalable authentication for applications. It is widely used by major platforms, including Google, Facebook, and GitHub, to allow users to grant third-party applications limited access to their resources without exposing their credentials.

What is OAuth 2.0?

OAuth 2.0 is an authorization framework that enables applications to obtain limited access to user accounts on an HTTP service, such as Facebook, GitHub, or Google. It works by issuing access tokens to clients, which they can use to interact with protected resources.

Unlike traditional authentication methods, OAuth 2.0 does not require users to share their login credentials with third-party applications. Instead, it leverages a token-based system to grant access based on user consent.

Key Components of OAuth 2.0

OAuth 2.0 involves multiple components, including:

1. Resource Owner: The user who owns the data and grants permission to access it.
2. Client: The application requesting access to the user’s resources.
3. Authorization Server: The server that authenticates the user and issues tokens.
4. Resource Server: The API or service that holds the protected resources and verifies tokens.
5. Access Token: A token issued by the authorization server that allows the client to access the resource server.
6. Refresh Token: A long-lived token used to request new access tokens without requiring user authentication again.