Why our products don't show a password form

If you sign in to Alfred, our invoice product, you’ll notice something curious: Alfred has no sign-in screen. It takes you to Ailita, Ailita confirms it’s you, and you’re back in Alfred with your session ready.

It looks like a detour. It’s one of the best decisions we’ve made.

Many doors, many risks

Picture a building with a door to the street for every office. Each door needs its lock, its key, its alarm and someone checking that everything works. It only takes one to fail.

That’s what happens when every application has its own password form. Each one has to get the same delicate things right, on its own: storing passwords, recovering them, asking for a second factor, stopping suspicious attempts. And keep getting them right every time something changes.

One door, very well guarded

Our answer was to have a single entrance for every product, and give it all the attention it deserves. That entrance is Ailita.

Ailita is a cat, and not by chance. Cats patrol their territory, notice what’s out of place and don’t make a fuss. That’s exactly what we expect from whoever guards the door.

What companies that use it get

• Their brand, not ours. Each company sees its own name, colors and way of signing in.
• Two-factor and Google or Microsoft sign-in, ready from day one.
• Sessions that really close. If someone loses a device or leaves the company, their access ends right then.
• Each company in its own space. One client’s users never cross paths with another’s.
• A watchful eye on every sign-in. Ailita notices when a sign-in doesn’t look like that person’s usual ones, and asks for an extra check.

What the teams building products get

The most sensitive part of any system stops being every product’s problem. Teams focus on what makes their software unique, and any new product inherits, from day one, a front door that is secure, proven and familiar to its users.

When is it worth it?

If you have more than one application, if your corporate clients ask to sign in with their work account, or simply if you don’t want your team maintaining the most attacked door in the system, a single entrance is worth it from day one.

See how we solved it in Ailita, or tell us about your case.