What is a Magic Link? How Magic Links Authentication Work? & Is It Secure?

One of the emerging trends of passwordless authentication which is magic link has been seen in recent years.

Because of this, many companies now use Magic Links to authenticate without requiring a password. Magic Link authentication may help mitigate risk, but it has some serious security weaknesses that organizations should consider before implementing.

Magic links in 60 seconds

A magic link is a single-use link sent once to the customer during the authentication process. When the user enters their email address or username, an email is sent to their email address with a unique URL. Users authenticate themselves without entering passwords, and for some, this might seem like magic, hence the name.

Magic links are attractive because they can eliminate the need for customers to create and remember passwords. You are at risk from password-based attacks if users choose easy-to-guess passwords and use them across personal and business accounts.