Some people have wondered what the relationship is between SlashID and OAuth.

Well, just like OpenID has nothing to do with OAuth, neither does SlashID.

OAuth is a protocol that allows one service to get access to protected data on another service, if the user authorizes it to. In order to authorize the access, the user has to authenticate to that service first, then do the authorization. OAuth covers the authorization process, but leaves the authentication part open. This is where OpenID, SlashID or any other type of authentication comes in.

So, SlashID is not “just an implementation of OAuth“. Neither is it an alternative to OAuth. SlashID and OAuth can work together, and in fact they would fit quite well.