Understanding OAuth 2.0
OAuth 2.0 is a modern and industry-standard protocol for securing web APIs. It simplifies the process by providing specific authorization flows for web apps, single-page apps, mobile apps, and so on, to access secured APIs.
Consider a use case where you want to build a web portal in which users can sync and view photos/videos from their favorite applications such as Instagram, Facebook, or other third-party applications. Your application should be able to request data from third-party applications on behalf of the user. One approach involves the storing of a user's credentials in relation to each third-party application, and your application sends or requests data on behalf of the user.
This approach can lead to many problems, outlined as follows:
- You need to design your application to securely store user credentials.
- Users may not be comfortable with their credentials being shared and stored by third-party applications in your application...