Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Do you know the difference between permissions and scopes?
Imagine this: You arrive at a hotel reception and the concierge needs to check which rooms are available - You need a room that can accommodate one guest. The room’s ability to host one guest, is the room's permission.
You leave a bag in your room for a friend to pick up while you go out for a walk.
Your friend arrives and talks to the concierge about the bag. Taking the bag is the scope of what that friend wants to do.
To allow your friend to pick up the bag, the concierge needs your authorization to release the bag. They call you and the concierge confirms that authorization. In other words, you approved your friend’s scope and the concierge will let them pick up the bag on your behalf.
In terms of an application, a permission is a declaration of an action that can be executed on a resource and a scope defines what an application can do, once approved, on behalf of a user.
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Do you know the difference between permissions and scopes?
Imagine this: You arrive at a hotel reception and the concierge needs to check which rooms are available - You need a room that can accommodate one guest. The room’s ability to host one guest, is the room's permission.
You leave a bag in your room for a friend to pick up while you go out for a walk.
Your friend arrives and talks to the concierge about the bag. Taking the bag is the scope of what that friend wants to do.
To allow your friend to pick up the bag, the concierge needs your authorization to release the bag. They call you and the concierge confirms that authorization. In other words, you approved your friend’s scope and the concierge will let them pick up the bag on your behalf.
In terms of an application, a permission is a declaration of an action that can be executed on a resource and a scope defines what an application can do, once approved, on behalf of a user.
If you enjoy this content and want to learn more about identity, security, and access management, subscribe to our channel!
Have a topic you'd like to see covered? Let us know if the comments below 👀
