thirdweb's Web3 Authentication Solution: Explained

Secure and user-friendly authentication is paramount: it’s one of the key reasons users choose any piece of tech. Just imagine an electric door to an apartment building—you wouldn’t want it to let anyone in, but you also wouldn’t want to create a complicated puzzle that would ruin your own experience of returning home.

That’s essentially the problem that web3 apps face today: traditional password-based systems often fall short either on security or user experience. Who wants to hand over countless information to centralized entities like traditional apps? Even if the company is trustworthy, hacks could put your data at risk. Suppose they keep your information safe and encrypted—as they should—that’s not even the whole story. Centralized authentication typically means vendor lock in: you’ll have to stick with one provider and if they choose to deny you access—game over.

Enter thirdweb Auth, a solution designed to streamline web3 authentication, offering both security and simplicity.

What is Auth?

thirdweb Auth enables developers to integrate passwordless, web3-native authentication into their applications. It allows users to log in using various methods, providing a seamless and secure authentication flow that bridges traditional backends with web3 functionalities. And it’s also compatible with every part of thirdweb’s wallet infrastructure, from the connect wallet button, to in-app wallets, to smart wallets.

Why Implement Auth?

Implementing thirdweb Auth offers several advantages:

To Eliminate Passwords

By adopting thirdweb Auth, applications can move away from traditional password-based logins, reducing the risk of password-related security breaches and enhancing user convenience.

To Activate Alternative Login Methods

thirdweb Auth supports various login methods, including email, phone numbers, and social accounts, allowing users to authenticate using their preferred method.

How Does thirdweb Auth Work?

thirdweb Auth leverages the Sign-In with Ethereum (SIWE) standard, enabling users to authenticate by signing messages with their wallets. This approach ensures secure verification of on-chain identities without relying on centralized databases. Developers can customize authentication options using the AuthOptions and SiweAuthOptions interfaces, tailoring the authentication flow to their application's specific needs.

Which thirdweb Wallets Does thirdweb Auth Work With?

Thirdweb Auth is compatible with all thirdweb wallets and wallet infrastructures, ensuring flexibility and broad integration capabilities.

External Wallets

thirdweb provides a straightforward authentication process via external wallets which allow users to authenticate using wallets like MetaMask or Coinbase Wallet. This integration is facilitated through the ConnectButton, UI component as part of the Connect SDK. And if you’re using this method to allow web3 connection to your app, it’s easy to implement thirdweb auth.

In-App Wallets

For single applications and games thirdweb enables developers to create in-app wallets for users with customizable branding, functionality and user experience. thirdweb Auth supports all in-app wallets, allowing users to authenticate through traditional methods like usernames and passwords or create their own auth flows.

More on thirdweb In-App Wallets

Ecosystem Wallets

In ecosystems comprising multiple apps and games, thirdweb offers wallets that provide users with a single identity across the entire ecosystem. Auth supports Ecosystem wallets too, meaning users can log in using various methods, including email, phone numbers, or social accounts, and access multiple applications within the ecosystem seamlessly.

Smart Wallets

Smart wallets let you offer users features such as gasless transactions, batched transactions, and even time-locked transactions. They can also be extremeley useful for setting up multisig permissions and creating social recovery mechanisms. Luckily, smart wallets are also compatible with thirdweb auth, meaning you can leverage account abstraction to create seamless, abstracted auth flows to take your app to the next level.

How Can I Implement Auth?

To implement thirdweb Auth, follow these steps:

1. Install the thirdweb SDK: Begin by installing the thirdweb SDK in your project.

2. Obtain a Client ID: Acquire a client ID by creating a project on the thirdweb dashboard.

3. Set Up Auth: Configure the authentication settings using the createAuth function, specifying parameters like the domain and client.

4. Integrate Auth in Your Application: Use components like ThirdwebProvider and ConnectButton to integrate the authentication flow into your application.

For detailed instructions and code examples, refer to the thirdweb Auth documentation.

Web3 Authentication Made Easy: thirdweb Auth

thirdweb Auth simplifies the integration of secure, passwordless authentication into web3 applications. By leveraging this toolkit, developers can create seamless and secure user experiences, bridging the gap between traditional authentication methods and the decentralized web. Embrace the future of authentication with thirdweb's comprehensive wallet infrastructure and elevate your application's security and user engagement.

Get started with auth →