Privacy by Default in OpenID Connect (OIDC)

The login box stared back, silent and waiting. A single click could change what happens to a user’s data forever. OpenID Connect (OIDC) with Privacy by Default makes sure that click does not cost more than it should.

OIDC is the protocol that sits on top of OAuth 2.0, standardizing authentication so that applications know exactly who is signing in. Privacy by Default is the principle that services should collect and share the absolute minimum personal data from the start — without toggles buried in settings panels. Combined, they form a security baseline: authentication without unnecessary data exposure.

By default, many OIDC flows can request wide scopes like openid profile email. This data often ends up in logs, caches, or partner APIs. Privacy by Default flips this pattern. Scopes are reduced. Claims are minimal. Endpoints return only what the application truly needs to function. No silent expansion of permissions. No invisible leakage.

Implementing Privacy by Default in OIDC means:

• Configure your Identity Provider (IdP) to strip non-essential claims.
• Use dynamic scope requests instead of static, all-encompassing ones.
• Audit tokens for sensitive fields before sending them downstream.
• Rotate and expire credentials aggressively to avoid stale exposure.

Good OIDC deployments separate authentication from profile enrichment. Access tokens are designed for resource servers, ID tokens for identity information. Mixing them carelessly can leak personal data. Privacy by Default enforces separation and minimizes attack surfaces.

With these principles in place, engineers can still build full-featured login flows. The difference is that unnecessary data never leaves the IdP. A breach yields less information. Logs are cleaner. Compliance audits shrink in scope. What is not collected cannot be stolen.

The best time to apply Privacy by Default in OIDC is at the very beginning — before scopes, claims, and flows are locked into production. Every extra attribute is a liability. Design lean, ship lean, stay lean.

See Privacy by Default in OIDC working inside a real product. Visit hoop.dev and watch it go live in minutes.