How OAuth Grants App Access Without Sharing Your Password

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OAuth is an authorization protocol that allows apps to act on a user's behalf at third-party services without ever handling the user's password. Instead of credentials, the service issues a scoped, revocable access token after the user authenticates and approves specific permissions. The process involves a redirect to the provider, user consent, and a server-side exchange of a short-lived code for an access token. Tokens are limited to approved permissions only, meaning a compromised or revoked token does not expose the full account. Public clients can further secure the flow using PKCE, which renders an intercepted authorization code useless on its own.

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