I need to implement a standard user registration/activation workflow with Firebase. There doesn't seem to be an obvious way to implement this. When I say "standard", I mean how most email/password accounts work - not necessarily specific to Firebase. I'm sure you're familiar with this. This is the workflow:
User enters their username/password on a form with some validation and submits details
The back-end creates the user record in the database, but the account remains deactivated (i.e. user cannot authenticate - the activated flag is set to false)
The back-end sends an email to the user with a link to activate the account
The user clicks the link in their email which triggers activation. This is probably a Web API of some description.
At this point, the user record's activated flag ticks over to true, and the user can now authenticate
The link probably also has a deep link that opens the app or navigates to a web page
The user can now log into the app
How do I configure Firebase to do all this?
Currently, the app allows the user to register. I am using the Flutterfire SDK. I call createUserWithEmailAndPassword, which successfully creates the user in Firebase. But, the user is already activated. The user should have a state of "disabled" in firebase until the account becomes activated. I can't find any settings to default the user to disabled when the account is first created.
I also managed to get Firebase to send out an activation email by calling sendSignInLinkToEmail, but this call is really designed for email authentication - not email activation. Opening the link should activate the account, but I have not figured out how to do this. This documentation makes it sound like it is possible. Perhaps, the Flutterfire SDK is missing this? I don't want to allow people to log in without a password. I only want to use this call to send out an email.
What am I missing here? Is this non-standard behavior for Firebase? If so, why? If the user is allowed to use an app with an email address that is not activated, they can impersonate someone else. We need to confirm at least that they are custodians of the email address that they are claiming to have.
Do other Firebase people just not worry about this?
Lastly, I know I can achieve this by creating a collection for users in Firebase and putting an "activated" flag there. But, if I do that, I've got to write a cloud function that accepts the link and then updates the user in the collection based on the received link. But I thought this would be automatic in Firebase. If Firebase doesn't have this built-in, I have to put all the security over the top to stop users from authenticating when they have not yet activated their account.
This is a pretty valid concern. I suppose the way around this is to check whether the signed-in user is verified whenever the app is launched. The User object that is returned from Firebase Auth has an emailVerified flag. Check this page for more details.
Using this flag you can choose to show a different screen or pop-up that has a button to send a verification link to the registered email address. Until the user verifies this address, you can limit access to some of the app's screens if you want.
Please note that I have not checked if this emailVerified flag is true for sign ups using Federated login providers like Google Sign-in and Apple Sign In. You might want to check that out.
Related
I'm making a Flutter application where the user has to register and log in with email and password.
Is there a way to ask the registered user to enter his password every time he wants to log in ?
The output would be like this :
Welcome back UserName#email.com
please type your password to enter the app
I've searched the subject in the FirebaseAuth documentation, but couldn't find any relative information.
You can explicitly sign any current user out when loading the page. See the bottom of the documentation page on email+password authentication for an example.
Realistically and practically speaking, you would use some type of local storage to signal to your app that the user is signed in, or out. If you use page load events only to signout the user, they will be signed out when opening a new tab which would probably be annoying.
You could use an unload event to prompt the user "You will be signed out of this application when you leave this page"
Doing all of that, the onload event could look for that auth state variable in local storage.
We have a PHP/MySQL based User Management System and are integrating it with Keycloak version 16 where we will store users credentials.
Our application does not allow users to self register. We create user accounts on the system. When we do this we do NOT specify a password because we want users to set up their own password.
The current system sends 2 separate emails in 2 different circumstances regarding passwords:
If it's a completely new user who does NOT have an existing password, we send them a link to set up a password.
If it's an existing user who already has a password, the system allows them to reset it, e.g. if they forget their password and can't login.
Keycloak seems to cater for scenario (2) because the login forms have a forgotten password link which opens a form where the user can enter their email address and receive a link which lets them do (2).
Unfortunately it doesn't deal with scenario (1) very well and that's where our problem starts. This has been asked a while ago Send password forgotten mail but it seems that Keycloak didn't support this very well in 2020 and perhaps still doesn't now.
Our "workaround" to this was that we added custom email templates and a custom page (reference: Themes on https://www.keycloak.org/docs/latest/server_development/#emails) which includes wording that caters for both scenarios, e.g. "set your password" rather than "reset your (existing) password". The result of this is that our email and form now reads appropriately for both scenarios (1) and (2).
The problem
We want to be able to send a link to the user that allows them to set their initial password to cover scenario (1).
We know that this page exists because on the login page for Keycloak there is a link to the forgotten password form that handles scenario (2). However, the form requires the user to enter their email address and submit the form. The user then receives an email from Keycloak which contains a URL to the page where they can do this. The URL has the following format:
https://example.com/auth/realms/foo/login-actions/action-token?key=...
The key= contains a ~945 character token. Going to the URL above redirects to the form where the user can reset their password. This next URL does not contain a token but a cookie has been set in the browser - by the previous URL - which makes it functional:
https://example.com/auth/realms/foo/login-actions/required-action?execution=UPDATE_PASSWORD
We can't send either of these URLs to the user because the first one (containing key=) has no API method for us to find out what it is - it's only possible to generate this by going through the "forgotten password" step during login, in the browser.
The second URL (/login-actions/required-action...) won't work either because it relies on the previous URL (containing key=) setting the cookie in the browser. If you try and go to this second URL directly (i.e. bypassing the first URL) it will error.
So neither of these URLs will work because we can't find what the first one is programmatically, and we can't use the second one without knowing the first one.
I found https://lists.jboss.org/pipermail/keycloak-user/2018-October/015910.html and the suggestion is using the Keycloak API to trigger a password reset email. This works - sending an HTTP PUT request containing 'UPDATE_PASSWORD' along with the relevant user ID sends the user an email. The request endpoint has the format PUT /{realm}/users/{id}/execute-actions-email which is documented on the link above.
Up to here all is fine - the user gets an email. However, this email does NOT contain a link that goes directly to the "reset password" page! Instead it sends them an email containing the following text:
Your administrator has just requested that you update your account by performing the following action(s): Update Password. Click on the link below to start this process.
Link to account update
When the user clicks "Link to account update" it then shows them a web page like this:
It is only when they click on the link on this page (the one that says "click here to proceed" on the screenshot) that they arrive at the form where they can reset their password.
This is a really poor user experience because the user gets sent a (badly worded) email with a link to... a page with another link! It should just take them to the password reset page directly. What's more frustrating is the fact that Keycloak is clearly capable of generating/sending the exact email we'd like in this scenario: the one which gets sent when a user manually does a password reset via their browser.
So the problem seems that Keycloak's API doesn't support this incredibly important and common use-case of a user being able to set an initial password, in a user-friendly manner.
I am adding the js script in the template to automatically click "click here to proceed". It's ugly but at least the user doesn't see the page
I'm making a simple social media app. Now I'm trying to provide security while registering users.
I'd like something like. By the way, JUST code for when things go wrong, like if username exists in db, not when things go right for example: Auth.auth().crateUser()
if username already exists in db {
(dont let user register.)
} else {
(let user register)
}
if email is not valid {
(dont let user register.)
} else {
(let user register)
}
Something like that. I'm thinking maybe using alerts, etc.
Any answer is VERY appreciated...
You can tell Firebase Authentication to only allow a single user with each specific email address to register in your project. You do this by enabling the One account per email address setting in the authentication providers panel in the Firebase console.
If you mean with email validation that you want to ensure the user actually has access to the mail address that they enter, that is called email verification in Firebase. Firebase doesn't require that the user verifies their email address before they can sign in. But if your application requires that, you can tell Firebase to send a verification email from within the app. Then when the user clicks the link in that email, a property is set on their account that you can then check in your code (or in the server-side security rules if you're using the Realtime Database, Cloud Firestore, or Cloud Storage). For more on this flow, see the blog post Email Verification in Firebase Auth.
An alternative to this flow is to use Firebase's newer Email link provider. This prevents the need for the user to enter a password, instead using an email with a link for them to sign in. This automatically then also sets their email address to verified.
I have a project where I am using Selenium to test the Facebook auth. I created a Facebook app, created a test user inside this app and created some tests using Facebook login. Until now, it was working. But during the last two weeks something changed in Facebook and my tests are failing. It is due to interface changes in permissions dialog (I am targeting the button by his id). The second problem is that I don't get the email address from Facebook test user but a proxy email which is longer than 75 characters (my db field length is hardcoded in framework I am using).
If I log in as a regular user, it is working correctly and I get this permission box:
But when I log in as the test user I created (via 'switch to' in app's developer roles), I get this box:
I tested it ~2 weeks ago and this was yet working. Today it is changed. So my questions:
How to get back the old permissions box for test users?
How can I get the real email address and not the proxy?
Thanks!
I experienced the same problem with the Auth Dialog. I tried it with some old and new apps with various settings including March/Apr. 2013 Breaking Changes enabled/disabled, but it didn't help.
However, I guess I can help you with the email problem. When you login as a test user and go to account settings page, you will see the test user's primary email addres. By default this should be a really long one like the image I attached.
Facebook Platform returns this primary email address. If you pass the Auth Dialog with your test user account and see the privacy setting page, you will find the default primary email address is shared with the app. You have to provide a new email address for the test user and set the new one as primary email address via account setting page.
Why is the Login Dialog different with a test user?
With your test user, you can see the future of login dialogs. In fact, this isn't "not working" but this is an update which was unveiled on December 2012. Let me quote:
Our Login dialogs have undergone a redesign to make it easier to
understand permissions that apps request. We've simplified
presentation and have also updated our language for greater clarity.
“Basic info” has been renamed to “public profile and friend list,” to
reflect what what is being shared. Apps accessing your public profile
get your name, profile picture, age range, gender, language, country
and other public information.
Source: Providing People Greater Clarity and Control, developers.facebook.com/blog
The reason why you don't meet this update with a regular user, is that Facebook doesn't use to update everyone at the same time. They partially launch updates depending on the country, the type of account or some other parameters I ignore.
Example of a partial update (unified_message FQL table) dedicated to developer accounts:
We are providing early access to this API for registered developer
accounts only until the new messaging system is broadly available. You
should use the message table for production applications at the
current time.
In our case, we now know that test users can access to the update, but it is also said:
We have already launched many of these improvements as part of our
iOS6 integration and are now rolling them out more broadly.
About proxy emails
In fact, proxy emails are a way for any users to keep their real email anonymous. You have to consider proxy emails.
When joining an app, the user can choose between a real email and a proxy email:
Other thing you need to expect are users who didn't validate their account when connecting to your app, a case which is possible as described here and here.
Then, why do test users give back a proxy email? Because test users (being bots and having fake emails) didn't validate their emails.
You see that in at least 3 cases (and finally, test users are a good example), you need to handle these proxy emails. They are incidentally or accidentally met by developers and they can't be neglected. For your case, you can still try to disallow tests users who have a proxy email from accessing your app. But you should accept them and shouldn't force them to share their original e-mail addresses. A better solution is that you validate the test users emails:
Connect to the test user account that gives a proxy email
Add an email address (password needed here),
Go to the email mailbox and click on the validation link,
Set the new email address as primary,
The test user should now give his original email and not a proxy anymore!
So there are definitely many tutorials out there regarding how to integrate various individual social network authentication/registration into existing user accounts. But the scenario I can't seem to find out much information about is if a user signs into your account with different social network credentials. For example:
Scenario #1
User registers on site using site's authentication.
User then signs in/registers on site using Facebook Connect.
User then signs in/registers on site using Twitter.
How do I integrate all of these into one account?
Obviously once a user is registered, they can add other social network associations in the account settings pages. But I am more concerned if they register via the other social network not remembering they are already setup.
My general thoughts are trying to figure out a way to use the "username" or email to try and guess and present the user a way to combine accounts right there.
Anyone have any thoughts?
following up -
if your users can't remember that they've signed up previously, well, best of luck to them in general ;)
much as you described, i'm planning on giving users the option to link additional accounts once they have signed in by one means or another.
but as far as cross-checking, there's only so much you can do. many social network APIs do indeed provide email addresses (once you've busted in through OAuth) but these may be accessible only if a user has elected to make his/her address public, which is not guaranteed.
also not guaranteed is that the user used the SAME email address for each social network account, so even if you manage to retrieve an address it may or not be of any use to you.
finally, if you find matching email addresses via such means, it might be advisable to prompt the user to link accounts rather than assume he/she wants this done automatically. some people like to maintain multiple personalities. i.e. "it looks like you are also signed up with twitter - do you want to link your accounts? it will make your life seem worth living."
you might consider offering incentives to link user accounts or to provide an email address (up to you of course to figure out what these might be, based on the functionality of your website).
solution i am working on, database-side, is to maintain multiple accounts and then if link information is discovered by various means, said link is indicated in a lookup table.
an alternative is once you find a link, attempt to combine all relevant entries for the multiple accounts into one account entity - all i can say about this latter approach is that i would do so with caution as there could be a formidable level of complexity depending on the user's activity level and the complexity of your database schema.
in my (mental/actual) namespace a user who registers the old-fashioned way has a 'standard' account and one who uses a social network has an 'alias' account. then the goal becomes to define where the alias is supposed to point, i.e. create the lookup such that a subsequent login via either means retrieves the relevant information for both accounts (with a preference for displaying personal data for the 'standard' account).
btw i figured out how to make twitter OAuth behave since my last post - you can look at my other answers for details if you're interested.
JB
hi matt,
i'm working on the same problem right
now.
assuming the user starts with regular
site account (which is not
necessarily safe to assume if he sees
all the pretty "connect with XXX
network" buttons!!!), you can use
either OAuth or the javascript APIs
(facebookConnect or #anywhere -
haven't fully figured out the latter
yet and i'm not sure I recommend it as
I don't think it provides as rich an
API as do the backend libraries) to
login to the other sites.
the APIs should return certain
information after a successful
login/redirect from the social network
- such as the user ID and an ACCESS TOKEN which you can then store in your
database in some capacity associating
your 'actual' application user with
the ID of the social network.
when the user returns to the site, you
can then
1 verify cookies set by the social
network services (various schemes
typically verifying a signature, based
on sha1 or md5 hash of your
application data - by which i mean the
data you get when you register your
app with twitter/facebook, typically a
consumer key, application ID, etc. -
with the received cookies) so you know
the user has logged in with the social
network
2 find your database entry association
as described above
3 login your user manually based on
the assumption that facebook/twitter
connection is secure.
caveat: this is only as secure as your
implementation (or as secure as
facebook/twitter's implementations, if
you prefer...)
although twitter's OAuth does not
currently seem to work quite right,
their general description of the
process is pretty informative:
http://dev.twitter.com/pages/auth
good luck.
J
I have been contemplating adding FB auth to our app, but we know that our returning users might click it and complete checkout for a new item, and then be surprised to not see any of their existing orders. To solve this, when a user clicks the 'Login with Facebook' item, we are using that click to fire a dropdown menu with two options:
[ Login with Facebook ]
[ Create new account ]
[ I have an account ]
If the user clicks 'I have an account' we send them to FB auth and return email from FB to our app. We compare that email to our existing users. If we match, we add the FB creds to the user. If no match, we throw an alert:
The email you have with FB does not match any of our accounts. To log in to your existing account, login with your email below, or update the email in your Facebook account
This allows the user to create a whole new account, if they want to keep them separate, without needing a new email service. While this is an edge case, it is a feature.