How to Choose the Right User Authentication Option for your Product

Authentication is a vital process of proving your identity to get access to a network or a resource. And we all go through different authentication options each day on various apps and websites.

Proving your identity is a crucial part of a secure infrastructure where businesses offer a variety of ways to authenticate their consumers.

However, when choosing the right authentication option for your product, there’s a lot of confusion and misconceptions that may eventually make it difficult to finalize one or even more.

Whether it’s social login or email authentication, types of authentication always vary depending on the sensitivity of the data that a user is trying to access.

But what’s even challenging is to choose the one that not only meets the security requirement and also creates a frictionless user experience at every touchpoint.

Let’s look at some critical aspects of authentication options and how businesses can make the right choice.

What is Authentication? Why is it Important?

Authentication is the process of identifying users and validating who they claim to be. One of the most common and apparent factors to authenticate identity is a password.

If the user name matches the password credential, the identity is valid, and the system grants access to the user.

Interestingly, with enterprises going passwordless, many use modern authentication techniques like one-time passcodes (OTP) via SMS, or email, single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA) and biometrics, etc. authenticate users and deploy security beyond what passwords usually provide.

Authentication is a must in a risky digital environment where every minute an identity is compromised and exploited.

Moreover, a little sneak into the business’s network by an unauthorized person impersonating someone else could eventually lead to losses worth millions. Hence, a robust authentication mechanism is the need of the hour.

Some authentication options are more robust as compared to others. Businesses, depending on their demands, utilize different authentication options to enhance security.

Types of Authentication Options

There are several authentication options available to authenticate users and provide access to resources.

Since now we understand what authentication is and why it is essential, let’s quickly understand the different types of authentication options available.

#1. Token Authentication

A token can be defined as a digitally encoded signature used to authenticate and authorize a user to access specific resources on a network.

A token is always generated in the form of an OTP (One-Time Password), which depicts that it could only be used once and is generated randomly for every transaction.

The token-based authentication allows users to verify their unique identity, and in return, they receive a unique token that provides access to certain resources for a particular time frame.

A token plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall security mechanism of an organization that helps to deliver flawless and secure authentication and authorization on their website or application.

#2. Standard Authentication

Standard authentication is one of the most common and basic authentication options that help users authenticate by entering their credentials using a user id and a password.

A user needs to set up an individual account on a website or an application using a strong password.

When combined with the associated user id, this password allows users to access their account/network and access specific resources.

Standard authentication is considered to be an outdated form of authentication. It is mainly reinforced by adding another stringent layer of security through multi-factor authentication (MFA), through which a user needs to go through multiple authentication steps to verify their identity.

#3. Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Multi-factor authentication (or MFA) is a multi-layered security system that verifies the identity of users for login or other transactions.

The user account will remain secure by leveraging multiple authentication layers even if one element is damaged or disabled. And that's the catch!

Codes generated by smartphone apps, answers to personal security questions, codes sent to an email address, fingerprints, etc., are a few examples of multi-factor authentication implemented in day-to-day scenarios.

#4. Passwordless Authentication

A passwordless authentication system swaps the use of a traditional password with more certain factors. These extra-security methods may include a magic link, fingerprint, PIN, or a secret token delivered via email or text message.

Passwordless login eliminates the need to generate passwords altogether. There’s a lot of good in this new-age process for both users and organizations alike.

Since one needs not type passwords anymore, it leads to a better screen time experience. While for organizations, it will lead to fewer breaches and support costs.

#5. Social Authentication

Social login enables users to use existing login credentials from a social networking platform including Facebook, Google, Twitter, and more, enabling simplified logins and registrations.

Social login eliminates the need to remember passwords for different accounts as they can leverage their social platforms to prove their identity.

While social login bypasses the conventional registration forms that eventually eat up a lot of time, it also builds credibility on an online service provider that is not asking for your details in a single go.

How to Decide the Best Authentication Option for Your Product?

Since we know there are several ways to authenticate users and to ensure that the right people have access to the information, security and usability are the crucial aspects that determine the effectiveness of an authentication method.

However, security without user experience is of no use as users demand a seamless user experience every time they wish to sign-up or log in to their accounts.

Hence, the traditional password-based authentication methods seem outdated and of no practical use.

Businesses seeking substantial business growth must rely on friction-less authentication methods like Passwordless Authentication and Social Authentication so that their users can seamlessly authenticate.

Why Choose LoginRadius as Your Authentication Partner?

LoginRadius offers cutting-edge ways to provide seamless registration and authentication for your customers.

The future-ready CIAM (consumer identity and access management) solution gives them a hassle-free way to access their accounts—with no passwords needed!

The LoginRadius Identity Platform is an out-of-the-box way for you to do this easily. Our CIAM is fully customizable, too, so you can simplify your customer experience to suit your company’s needs. Here are some great reasons to choose LoginRadius:

• No Code Authentication
• 100% Uptime
• 35 Data Centers
• Highest Peak Load Capacity (180K Logins/Sec)

Conclusion

In a competitive digital business landscape where user experience and security go hand-in-hand, reliable authentication methods become crucial.

Businesses need to understand that besides the best security practices, they also need to ensure a seamless user experience while interacting with their platform.

LoginRadius understands the importance of frictionless authentication and helps businesses ensure adequate security without hampering user experience.

With LoginRadius’ Passwordless Authentication and Social Authentication, businesses can ensure the highest level of security coupled with a flawless user experience while they prove their identity.