Patent ID: 8627435

Claim:
A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, by a sign-on service effectuated by one or more computer systems, a sign-on request to a web site for a user interacting with the web site, wherein the sign-on request identifies the user, and wherein the user is associated with a user account of the sign-on service; authenticating, by the sign-on service, the user based at least in part on the sign-on request and on sign-on information for the user account; determining, by the sign-on service, that the web site is authorized to access at least a portion of account information associated with the user account and stored by the sign-on service; causing, by the sign-on service in response to determining that the web site is authorized, a credential that represents the user to be sent from the sign-on service to the web site; authorizing, by the sign-on service in response to receipt of the credential in a subsequent request from the web site to access at least the portion of the account information, the subsequent request based at least in part on the credential; and sending at least the portion of the account information to the web site in response to the authorizing of the subsequent request.