# Identity Provider

An Identity Provider - IdP - is an server providing user [authentication](/glossary/a/authentication) through the use of [security tokens](/glossary/s/security_token), for example [SAML 2.0](/glossary/s/saml) or [OAuth](/glossary/o/oauth). 

Typically, an identity provider is used by one or several [Service Providers](/glossary/s/service_provider) to enable users to access services.