login.gov

Project details

Hundreds of applications across government websites require visitors to log in. Many of these login systems use old technology or outdated encryption standards. As a result, visitors often have an inconsistent, confusing, or unreliable experience simply logging in to government websites. In addition, each agency maintains their own system, duplicating work across the government.

To improve visitors' experience and increase federal efficiency, 18F and the U.S. Digital Service worked together to create login.gov. Login.gov offers a single sign-on solution for government websites that lets the public access services across select agencies with the same username and password. Because the service is maintained centrally, it reduces duplication across agencies.

The login.gov team was guided by two principles: 1) create a user experience on par with top tech industry websites; and 2) focus on privacy and security from the very beginning. With a user-centered design approach, login.gov makes it easy and intuitive for visitors to choose their login credentials. On the safety side, login.gov guarantees an industry-leading degree of security, with privacy and end-to-end encryption as core tenets of the platform. Users own their own data, it’s strongly encrypted, and none of it is shared across agencies unless a user explicitly allows it.

For agencies, adopting login.gov lets them save time, money, and significant customer support resources they would have devoted to managing their login systems. Those resources can be better spent on their core missions and serving their users.