Guide
What is Internet Identity? The Internet Computer Login, Explained
Internet Identity is how people sign in to apps on the Internet Computer — and it is unlike any login you have used before. No password to forget, no seed phrase to lose, and every app sees you as a different anonymous identity.
August 10, 2026 · 5 min read
The problem with passwords and seed phrases
Passwords are the weakest link in the web. People reuse them, phishing sites steal them, and a leaked database exposes accounts in bulk. Crypto tried to fix that with seed phrases — but a 12-word phrase is a different kind of burden: written down once, hidden forever, and impossible to recover if lost.
Internet Identity replaces both with a private key stored in your device's secure enclave, unlocked by Face ID, Touch ID, or a hardware key.
How Internet Identity works
When you create an Internet Identity, your device generates a key pair. The private key never leaves the device — it is protected by your passkey and the Secure Enclave. The public part is registered on the Internet Computer as an anchor.
Each app gets a different derived principal from the same anchor. Logging into two apps with one Internet Identity looks like two completely different users to those apps. That means apps cannot track you across services — and no app ever learns your real identity.
Why there is nothing to back up
With a seed phrase, losing the paper means losing the wallet. With Internet Identity, the key lives in the device you already carry. If you lose the device, you can recover the same anchor by using a pre-registered recovery device — a second phone, a laptop, or a hardware security key.
There is no email, no password, and no seed phrase — nothing for a hacker to phish and nothing for a user to lose.
Internet Identity and ICPay
ICPay uses Internet Identity exclusively. The wallet account you see is derived from your principal, which is derived from your device credential. Your ICP lives in a subaccount only your principal can control — ICPay cannot move it without your passkey signing the call.
Custodial on the ledger, but unkillable by design: the canister follows the same consensus rules as the ICP ledger itself. You get the convenience of a hosted wallet with none of the password-recovery horror stories.
Getting started
Signing in with Internet Identity takes seconds: visit the login page, follow the passkey prompt, and you are in. No form to fill, no phrase to save.
Curious about the platform behind it? Read what is ICP or see where the Internet Computer fits in our crypto wallet guide.