LinkedIn authentication allows users to log in to external websites and services using their LinkedIn account credentials. This eliminates the need to create separate accounts and remember multiple usernames and passwords. Instead, users can leverage their existing LinkedIn profile to sign in seamlessly.
For developers, implementing LinkedIn authentication can help boost user sign-ups and engagement. Users are more likely to sign up if they don’t have to spend time filling out lengthy registration forms and can use an account they already have. In this article, we’ll look at how to add LinkedIn authentication to your website or app.
How Does LinkedIn Authentication Work?
LinkedIn uses the OAuth 2.0 protocol for its authentication service. OAuth allows users to approve third-party apps or sites to connect to their LinkedIn account without exposing their password.
Here is a quick overview of how LinkedIn OAuth works:
Step 1 | The user clicks a “Sign in with LinkedIn” button on your site. |
Step 2 | They are redirected to LinkedIn’s authorization page to log in if needed and approve access. |
Step 3 | LinkedIn authenticates the user and sends an authorization code back to your app. |
Step 4 | Your app exchanges the authorization code for an access token from LinkedIn. |
Step 5 | Your app can use the access token to make API calls to LinkedIn to get user profile data. |
So in summary, LinkedIn handles the authentication and authorization portion, while your app gets back verified access tokens to interact with the LinkedIn API.
Registering Your Application
To enable LinkedIn authentication, you first need to register your app or website on LinkedIn’s developer platform. Here are the steps:
- Go to https://www.linkedin.com/developers/ and log in with your LinkedIn account.
- Click on “Create Application” to register a new app.
- Fill out details like the name, description, logo, and use case for your app.
- Add any development team members who need access.
- Agree to LinkedIn’s API terms of use.
- On the OAuth 2.0 page, choose the scopes your app needs access to (profile fields, sharing abilities, etc.)
- Submit your application and LinkedIn will generate a unique client ID and client secret key for your app.
This client ID and secret will be needed later to make API calls and authenticate users.
Implementing Sign In with LinkedIn
Once your application is registered, you can start implementing LinkedIn sign in. Here are the main steps required:
1. Redirect Users to LinkedIn
Build a “Sign in with LinkedIn” button that when clicked will send the user to LinkedIn’s OAuth 2.0 authorization URL. Make sure to include your client ID, redirect URI, and requested scopes as parameters.
For example:
“`
https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/authorization?response_type=code&client_id=123&redirect_uri=https://example.com/auth&scope=r_liteprofile%20r_emailaddress
“`
2. Handle the Authorization Code
Once the user authorizes your app on LinkedIn, they will be redirected back to your redirect URI along with an authorization code. Your app needs to handle this request and exchange the code for an access token using LinkedIn’s OAuth 2.0 access token endpoint.
Make a POST request to:
“`
https://www.linkedin.com/oauth/v2/accessToken
“`
Pass along your client ID, client secret, redirect URI, and the authorization code. LinkedIn will return an access token your app can use.
3. Make API Calls
With the access token, your app can make authenticated requests to LinkedIn’s APIs to retrieve the user’s profile information like their name, email address, location, connections, etc.
For example, to get basic profile info:
“`
GET https://api.linkedin.com/v2/me
Authorization: Bearer
“`
4. Handle the Profile Data
Once you have the user’s LinkedIn profile data, you can link it to an account in your system or create a new account for them if it’s their first login. Save the access token if you need to make follow-up API requests.
Some key points:
– Check for a verified email address you can use as a unique identifier.
– Store the user’s name, location, photo URL, etc in the user profile.
– Save the access token with the user ID for future API calls.
– Consider refreshing the access token periodically to keep API access.
Additional Recommendations
Here are some additional tips when working with LinkedIn authentication:
– Follow OAuth 2.0 security best practices like properly storing tokens, validating redirects, and encoding parameters.
– Provide options to logout and disconnect accounts. Destroy the access token when the user logs out.
– Use LinkedIn’s developer support and status pages to monitor for API issues.
– Review LinkedIn’s usage guidelines and make sure your use case is allowed. Some restrictions apply.
– Consider supporting error cases like invalid authorization codes or access denied errors.
– Localize any LinkedIn buttons and pages displayed in your app.
Conclusion
Implementing LinkedIn authentication requires registering your app, handling OAuth 2.0 authorization flows, making API calls, and securely managing user access tokens. Done right, it can provide a quick and convenient login option for your users leveraging their existing LinkedIn accounts. Be sure to follow security best practices and provide additional account management options as well.