Logging in to a website via Lightning Login (LNURL Auth)
With Lightning Login you can log in anonymously to websites without an email address and password. You will need a Bitcoin Lightning wallet that supports LNURL-Auth. We explain in this post how a Lightning login works and which Lightning Wallet support LNURL-Auth.
Lightning Login can be used to authorize, register or log in to external services and websites. The advantage for the user is that no personal information has to be disclosed. Registration on these Internet pages is anonymous.
On the Lightning login page, you will be shown a QR code that you scan with a Lightning Wallet or copy the Lightning LNURL address into the Lightning Wallet. If you want to log in again later, scan the QR code with the same Lightning Wallet and you will be logged in to your account again.
How to register on Internet sites today
Who does not know the problem. You want to use an Internet service and are asked to register by providing your e-mail address. With this email address and a password you can always log in to the site later.
If you are unlucky, you will receive unwanted messages to this email address, you will forget your password or you will have to renew it constantly.
Alternatively, there are now social media logins or Google services that make logging in easier, but provide even more personal data to the website or authorization service providers.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to log into websites anonymously, without having to reveal any personal data, and to be able to use them quickly and easily?
What is Lightning Login or LNURL-Auth?
Lightning Login is the colloquial name for LNURL-auth. LNURL stands for Lightning Url. URL refers to the call of a specific file via the Internet.
This LNURL has various uses and here we are talking about the possibility of authentication or in short form just Auth.
Authentication is about proving an identity or authorization. This authentication is done via a digital signature, i.e. the user needs a public-private or public-private key pair.
Users of a Lightning Wallet have such a key pair and can use it to authenticate themselves.
During Lightning login, the user identifies himself with his public key. No further identification data such as passwords, e-mail addresses, user names or similar are required.
How to register via Lightning Login?
If you want to try out how Lightning Login works with your Lightning Wallet, you can do so on the Lightninglogin.live website.
Just click on Login with Lightning and then a QR code will be displayed.
We take our Lightning Wallet and use the corresponding scan function for this.
After scanning the QR code, our Lightning Wallet will ask us if we want to log in to the site. When we confirm this, we will receive the successful registration confirmation on the website.
How do I log in again via Lightning Login?
If you want to log in again at a later time, proceed in the same way as for registration. You take your Lightning Wallet again, scan the QR code and you are logged in again.
You can see from the displayed user data that the numbers are identical.
When logging in again, make sure that the same Lightning Wallet is used as when logging in for the first time.
There is no exchange of data or sharing of information between the various websites that use Lightning Login. You can use the same Lightning Wallet for authentication on any website.
Lightning Wallets that support Lightning Login
There are already numerous Lightning wallets that support Lightning login. We have listed here a list of the most important Lightning wallets with Lightning login.
| Lightning Wallet Provider | Lightning Login (LNURL-Auth) |
| Alby | X |
| bitnob | X |
| Blixt | X |
| BlueWallet | X |
| Breez | X |
| Coinos | X |
| Lifpay | X |
| LightningTipBot | X |
| Phoenix | X |
| Wallet of Satoshi | X |
| Zeus | X |
If you know of any other Lightning wallets that support Lightning Login, please let us know so we can update the list.
Then please share it with us via Twitter at: https://twitter.com/coincharge_io or on our Telegram channel: https://t.me/coinchargeio
Alby Wallet
Lightning login and receive Lightning payments with personal Lightning address
The Alby Lightning Wallet is a browser wallet. You can install this Lightning Wallet as an extension to your Internet browser.
If you want to log in to an Internet page using Lightning Login, click on the QR code displayed.
The Alby Browser extension will open.
You first enter your Alby password.
After that, a page will appear asking you if you want to connect to the corresponding page via Connect.
You will receive your own Lightning Wallet from Alby with a Lightning address such as: Username@getalby.com.
Lightning payments made to this Alby Lightning address will be credited directly to your Lightning wallet on Alby. You can deposit this Alby Lightning address to Coincharge Payments to get the Sats credited directly to your Alby Lightning wallet.
- You can find a detailed description of the Lightning Wallet by Blixt at Coincharge at: Alby Wallet (in preparation)
- Go to Alby Wallet website
Blixt Wallet
Lightning Login
Blixt Lightning Wallet is a Lightning app wallet for smartphone and supports iOS and Android.
To log in using Lightning Login, open the Blixt Wallet and you will see the Send button in the bottom right corner.
If you click on it, the camera function will open and you can scan the QR code.
The window opposite appears and you click on Yes and are automatically logged in.
- Visit the Blixt Wallet website
Breez Wallet
Lightning Login
Breez Lightning Wallet is a Lightning app wallet, for iOS and Android smartphone.
To log in via Lightning Login, open the Breez Wallet and you will see a QR symbol between Send and Receive.
You will then have the option to scan the QR code. The window opposite appears and you click on Yes and are automatically logged in.
- You can find a detailed description of Breez’s Lightning Wallet at Coincharge: Breez Wallet
- Visit the Breez Wallet website
LightningTipBot
Lightning login and receive Lightning payments with personal Lightning address
The LightningTipBot is a Telegram Lightning Wallet.
If you are already a Telegram user, then you can create a Lighting Wallet by going to https://t.me/LightningTipBot.
To log in via Lightning Login, you need the LNURL address. To do this, right-click on the QR code and save this information to the clipboard.
After that, switch to the LightningTipBot Telegram channel and paste this address there.
You will then be asked if you want to log in to the corresponding page.
In the Telegram channel you will be asked if you want to log in to the corresponding page, which you can confirm.
You will receive your own Lightning Wallet from LightningTipBot with a Lightning address such as: Username@ln.tips.
Lightning payments to this @ln.tips Lightning address will be credited directly to your Lightning wallet at LightningTipBot. You can deposit this LightningTipBot Lightning address to Coincharge Payments to get the Sats credited directly to your LightningTipBot Lightning wallet.
- For a detailed description of the Lightning Wallet by LightningTipBot, visit Coincharge at: LightningTipBot Wallet
- Visit the LightningTipBot Wallet website
Phoenix Wallet
Lightning Login
Phoenix Lightning Wallet is a Lightning app wallet that you can install on your smartphone (iOS and Android).
To log in using Lightning Login, open the Phoenix Wallet and select the Send option. You will then have the option to scan the QR code. The window opposite appears and you click on Authenticate and are automatically logged in.
- Go to the website of the Phoenix Lightning Wallet from Acinq
Lightning Login for WordPress
If you run a website with WordPress, you can offer a Lightning Login on your site.
Joel Stüdle has developed a corresponding plugin LNURL Auth for WordPress https://wordpress.org/plugins/lnurl-auth/.
The plugin Lightning Login for WordPress can be tried on the site https://lnurl-auth-for-wordpress.joelstuedle.ch/.
An overview of all Lightning Wallets that support the different LNURL formats can be found here: LNURL Lightning Wallets
