Auth (disambiguation)

Auth

This page is a disambiguation for the term “auth”. It is often used as an abbreviation for:

• Authentication : The process of verifying the identity ownership (e.g., user or service). It answers the question “Which identity do you own?”
• Authorization : The process of determining what actions an identity can perform on a resource. It answers the question “What can you do?”

[!Note] Sometimes, authentication and authorization are referred to as “AuthN” and “AuthZ”, respectively.

These two concepts are both essential in the Identity and access management (IAM) realm, but they are fundamentally different. Let’s see an example: An web application MyStorage have the capability to upload files and connect to Google Drive. A typical user flow would be:

In this flow, the user performs two authentication steps: one with MyStorage (step 1) and another with Google (step 6); and one authorization step: granting access to Google Drive (step 8).

Which one do you mean?

When you see the term “auth”, it’s important to clarify whether it’s referring to authentication or authorization; otherwise, you might expect both processes to be covered (just like this website does).

See also

• Authentication
• Authorization
• Identity and access management (IAM)
• OAuth 2.0
• OpenID Connect (OIDC)