Security and identity

This article provides an index of development features that are related to scenarios involving security and identity in Windows apps.

Note

The Windows App SDK currently does not provide APIs related to security and identity scenarios.

Windows OS features

Windows 10 and later OS releases provide a wide variety of APIs related to graphics scenarios for apps. These features are available via a combination of WinRT and Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs provided by the Windows SDK.

WinRT APIs

The following articles provide information about features available via WinRT APIs provided by the Windows SDK.

Article	Description
Security	Learn about the breadth of security features for Windows apps.
Authentication and user identity	Windows apps have several options for user authentication, ranging from simple single sign-on (SSO) using Web authentication broker to highly secure two-factor authentication.
Cryptography	Learn about cryptography features available to Windows apps.
Windows Hello	This article describes the Windows Hello technology and discusses how developers can implement this technology to protect their apps and backend services. It highlights specific capabilities of Windows Hello that help mitigate threats from conventional credentials and provides guidance about designing and deploying these technologies as part of your packaged Windows apps.
Create a Windows Hello login app	Part 1 of a complete walkthrough on how to create a packaged Windows app that uses Windows Hello as an alternative to traditional username and password authentication systems.
Create a Microsoft Passport login service	Part 2 of a complete walkthrough on how to use Windows Hello as an alternative to traditional username and password authentication systems in packaged Windows apps.

Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs

The following articles provide information about features available via Win32 (C++ and COM) APIs provided by the Windows SDK.

Article	Description
Security and identity	Learn about the breadth of security features available to Windows apps via Win32 APIs.
Authentication	Learn about authentication features available via Win32 APIs.
Cryptography	Learn about cryptography features available via Win32 APIs.

.NET features

The .NET SDK also provides APIs related to security and identity scenarios for WPF and Windows Forms apps. The security and cryptography APIs in .NET can also be used in C# WinUI apps.

Article	Description
Security in .NET	Learn about security concepts and features for all .NET apps.
Security (WPF)	Learn about security concepts and features for WPF apps.
Windows Forms Security	Learn about security concepts and features for Windows Forms apps.