A computer-implemented method for facilitating user access to a standalone computing device, the method comprising: receiving, by the standalone computing device from a mobile computing device associated with a user, a first command to access capabilities of the standalone computing device, wherein the first command includes an ephemeral user identifier which includes an ephemeral key and user-specific metadata, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is unique to the first command, wherein the ephemeral key is generated by a network service, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is digitally signed with a private key of the network service, and wherein the standalone computing device is not directly accessible by the network service; wherein the ephemeral user identifier is transmitted via a network from the network service to the mobile computing device, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is further verified by the mobile computing device using the public key of the network service prior to transmitting the first command to the standalone computing device, wherein the first command is transmitted by the mobile computing device to the standalone computing device, and wherein the user-specific metadata is stored by the network service, which allows the standalone computing device to verify that the mobile computing device is associated with a user which has been previously authorized by the network service; and verifying, by the standalone computing device using a public key of the network service, that the digitally signed ephemeral user identifier was generated by the network service; and executing, by the standalone computing device, the first command based on the user-specific metadata by accessing the capabilities of the standalone computing device characterized by transmitting the ephemeral user identifier in plaint text; and deriving, by the network service, the ephemeral user identifier based on the user-specific metadata as a numeric string and transmitting the ephemeral user identifier via a network from the network service to the mobile computing device as the numeric string. receiving, by the standalone computing device from a mobile computing device associated with a user, a first command to access capabilities of the standalone computing device, wherein the first command includes an ephemeral user identifier which includes an ephemeral key and user-specific metadata, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is unique to the first command, wherein the ephemeral key is generated by a network service, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is digitally signed with a private key of the network service, and wherein the standalone computing device is not directly accessible by the network service; wherein the first command includes an ephemeral user identifier which includes an ephemeral key and user-specific metadata, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is unique to the first command, wherein the ephemeral key is generated by a network service, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is digitally signed with a private key of the network service, and wherein the standalone computing device is not directly accessible by the network service; wherein the ephemeral user identifier is transmitted via a network from the network service to the mobile computing device, wherein the ephemeral user identifier is further verified by the mobile computing device using the public key of the network service prior to transmitting the first command to the standalone computing device, wherein the first command is transmitted by the mobile computing device to the standalone computing device, and wherein the user-specific metadata is stored by the network service, which allows the standalone computing device to verify that the mobile computing device is associated with a user which has been previously authorized by the network service; and verifying, by the standalone computing device using a public key of the network service, that the digitally signed ephemeral user identifier was generated by the network service; and executing, by the standalone computing device, the first command based on the user-specific metadata by accessing the capabilities of the standalone computing device characterized by transmitting the ephemeral user identifier in plaint text; and deriving, by the network service, the ephemeral user identifier based on the user-specific metadata as a numeric string and transmitting the ephemeral user identifier via a network from the network service to the mobile computing device as the numeric string.