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Web apps must obtain an access token to securely call Google APIs.
The Google Identity Services JavaScript library supports both authentication for
user sign-in and authorization to obtain an access token for use with Google
APIs. The library is intended only for use in browsers.
Authentication establishes who someone is, and is commonly referred to as user
sign-up or sign-in. Authorization is the process of granting or rejecting access
to data or resources. It includes obtaining and managing user consent, limiting
the amount of data or resources shared with scopes, and retrieving an access
token for use with Google APIs.
These guides cover authorization and data sharing topics.
How user authorization works describes the individual steps of user
authorization in detail and includes user dialog examples.
If you are looking for help with authentication and how to implement user
sign-up and sign-in see Sign In With Google.
This library is not intended for use with server-side JavaScript frameworks such
as Node.js, instead use Google's Node.js
client library.
What's changed
For users, the Google Identity Services library offers numerous usability
improvements over earlier JavaScript libraries, including:
Authentication for user sign-in, and authorization to obtain an access token
to call Google APIs, now have two separate and distinct user flows; one for
sign-in and another for consent during authorization, with separate
user flows to clearly differentiate who you are, from what an app can do.
Improved visibility and granular control of data sharing during user
consent.
Browser based pop-up dialogs to reduce friction, and which do not require
users to leave your site to:
obtain an access token from Google, or
send an authorization code to your backend platform.
For developers, our focus has been to reduce complexity, improve security, and
make your integration as quick and easy as possible. Some of these changes are:
User authentication for sign-in, and authorization used to obtain
an access token to call Google APIs, are two separate and distinct sets of
JavaScript objects, and methods. This reduces the complexity and amount of
detail required to implement authentication or authorization.
A single JavaScript library now supports both the:
OAuth 2.0 implicit flow, used to obtain an access token for use
in-browser
OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow, also known as offline access, and
initiates securely delivering an authorization code to your backend
platform, where it can be exchanged for an access token and refresh
token. Previously, these flows were only available by using multiple
libraries and through direct calls to OAuth 2.0 endpoints. A single
library decreases your integration time and effort, instead of including
and learning multiple libraries and OAuth 2.0 concepts you can focus on
a single, unified interface.
Indirection through getter style functions has been removed for simplicity
and readability.
When handling authorization responses you choose whether or not to use a
Promise to fulfill requests, instead of that decision
being made for you.
the gapi.auth2 module and associated objects and methods are no longer
automatically loaded for you behind the scenes, and have been replaced
with more explicit Google Identity Services library objects and methods.
Automatic refresh of expired access tokens has been removed to improve
user security and awareness. After an access token expires your app must
handle Google API error responses, request, and obtain a new, valid
access token.
To support a clear separation of authentication and authorization
moments, simultaneously signing a user in to your app and to their
Google Account while also issuing an access token is no longer
supported. Previously, requesting an access token also signed users into
their Google Account and returned a JWT ID token credential for user
authentication.
To increase user security and privacy, per user credentials issued for
authorization follow the principle of least privilege by including only an
access token and information required to manage it.
[null,null,["Last updated 2025-05-19 UTC."],[[["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Identity Services JavaScript library enables secure access to Google APIs via access tokens and supports user authentication.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe library offers separate, streamlined user flows for sign-in (authentication) and consent (authorization) for enhanced user experience and control.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eDevelopers benefit from reduced complexity, improved security, and easier integration with features like a unified library for both implicit and authorization code flows.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eGoogle Identity Services prioritizes user privacy and security through measures like least privilege credentials and explicit access token refresh handling.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe library is exclusively for browser-based applications and should not be used with server-side JavaScript frameworks like Node.js.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["# Authorizing for Web\n\nWeb apps must obtain an access token to securely call Google APIs.\n\nThe Google Identity Services JavaScript library supports both authentication for\nuser sign-in and authorization to obtain an access token for use with Google\nAPIs. The library is intended only for use in browsers.\n\nAuthentication establishes who someone is, and is commonly referred to as user\nsign-up or sign-in. Authorization is the process of granting or rejecting access\nto data or resources. It includes obtaining and managing user consent, limiting\nthe amount of data or resources shared with scopes, and retrieving an access\ntoken for use with Google APIs.\n\nThese guides cover authorization and data sharing topics.\n\n[How user authorization works](/identity/oauth2/web/guides/how-user-authz-works) describes the individual steps of user\nauthorization in detail and includes user dialog examples.\n\nIf you are looking for help with authentication and how to implement user\nsign-up and sign-in see [Sign In With Google](/identity/gsi/web/guides/overview).\n| **Note:** The `email`, `profile`, and `openid` scopes are used for user authentication. If your app only uses these scopes [Sign In With Google](/identity/gsi/web) is recommended instead.\n\nThis library is not intended for use with server-side JavaScript frameworks such\nas Node.js, instead use Google's [Node.js](https://github.com/googleapis/google-api-nodejs-client)\nclient library.\n\nWhat's changed\n--------------\n\nFor users, the Google Identity Services library offers numerous usability\nimprovements over earlier JavaScript libraries, including:\n\n- Authentication for user sign-in, and authorization to obtain an access token to call Google APIs, now have two separate and distinct user flows; one for [sign-in](/identity/gsi/web/guides/overview#how_it_works) and another for [consent](/identity/oauth2/web/guides/how-user-authz-works#user_consent) during authorization, with separate user flows to clearly differentiate who you are, from what an app can do.\n- Improved visibility and granular control of data sharing during [user\n consent](/identity/oauth2/web/guides/how-user-authz-works#user_consent).\n- Browser based pop-up dialogs to reduce friction, and which do not require users to leave your site to:\n - obtain an access token from Google, or\n - send an authorization code to your backend platform.\n\nFor developers, our focus has been to reduce complexity, improve security, and\nmake your integration as quick and easy as possible. Some of these changes are:\n\n- User [authentication](/identity/gsi/web/reference/js-reference) for sign-in, and [authorization](/identity/oauth2/web/reference/js-reference) used to obtain an access token to call Google APIs, are two separate and distinct sets of JavaScript objects, and methods. This reduces the complexity and amount of detail required to implement authentication or authorization.\n- A single JavaScript library now supports both the:\n - OAuth 2.0 implicit flow, used to obtain an access token for use in-browser\n - OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow, also known as offline access, and initiates securely delivering an authorization code to your backend platform, where it can be exchanged for an access token and refresh token. Previously, these flows were only available by using multiple libraries and through direct calls to OAuth 2.0 endpoints. A single library decreases your integration time and effort, instead of including and learning multiple libraries and OAuth 2.0 concepts you can focus on a single, unified interface.\n- Indirection through getter style functions has been removed for simplicity and readability.\n- When handling authorization responses you choose whether or not to use a [Promise](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/JavaScript/Reference/Global_Objects/Promise) to fulfill requests, instead of that decision being made for you.\n- The [Google API Client Library for JavaScript](https://github.com/google/google-api-javascript-client) has been updated with these changes:\n - the `gapi.auth2` module and associated objects and methods are no longer automatically loaded for you behind the scenes, and have been replaced with more explicit Google Identity Services library objects and methods.\n - Automatic refresh of expired access tokens has been removed to improve user security and awareness. After an access token expires your app must handle Google API error responses, request, and obtain a new, valid access token.\n - To support a clear separation of authentication and authorization moments, simultaneously signing a user in to your app and to their Google Account while also issuing an access token is no longer supported. Previously, requesting an access token also signed users into their Google Account and returned a JWT ID token credential for user authentication.\n- To increase user security and privacy, per user [credentials](/identity/oauth2/web/guides/migration-to-gis#example_credentials) issued for authorization follow the principle of least privilege by including only an access token and information required to manage it."]]