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Comment by mywittyname | Hacker News Reader

> We create an anonymous account around any visitor to your website.

I like this idea. As a user, I hate that companies force me to make an account in situations where I don't want to make an account. It sounds like companies that use your product will allow me to buy products from someone without having to create a damn account.

Accounts are negative value for most customers who don't regularly return. It's a source of friction: who hasn't forgotten the password for a site their rarely go to then decide it's not worth doing the password reset (even if you use a password manager, it might not stay updated for "junk" sites)?

Plus, junk sites are the ones that tend to get pwned, and leak information.

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> Accounts are negative value for most customers who don't regularly return. It's a source of friction: who hasn't forgotten the password for a site their rarely go to then decide it's not worth doing the password reset (even if you use a password manager, it might not stay updated for "junk" sites)?

We want the internet to be kind of like Discord's auth, one where you can see what is going on in a server but there are some actions that require verification/authentication. Like you said, if you just want a sneak peak, no reason to verify your email or create a bad password. But if you want to leave a comment, you have to verify.

That is our goal. There are a few different use-cases where no account is great and a few where you may want to create an account.

Buying something from an ecommerse website could be either or. You may want to save some specifics or preferences. Others may need you to create an account to come back, especially if there is critical data being stored. I agree that passwords are dangerous.

We used our own auth to create a "try it out" page on Webflow. We do need an email (but it does not have to be validated) so we can go to our backend and create an App key so you can try the snippet. If you come back, you also do not have to validate, but if you want to go into our app deeper, we have you validate because otherwise, you will not be able to get back after the tokens expire, you use a different browser, etc.

What is really exciting is a world where you can validate without an email or phone number. So you can come back without needing more data.

> Accounts are negative value for most customers who don't regularly return

Don't most ecommerce websites allow you to checkout as a guest?

I think they often do, yes. But I feel like there's often a decision point there for the user. The thought "if I don't create an account, but need to come back later for something (status, returns, questions), can I still get what I need?"

Rownd would essentially eliminate that mental question entirely. You provided an email or phone, therefore you're more than just a guest.

Matt makes a great point.

To emphasis: During check out, they still have you add your email and phone (for receipt, tracking, etc). It is transactional in nature, but the company still has it and likely saves the session with a cookie.

Rownd is trying to fix this: Why not treat everyone like a guest the first time and if they want, when they come back, they can verify phone/email (or wallet in the future) and then the rest is filled in.

99% of the time I "continue as a guest" because it is easier than going through the hassle of email (verify), password (remember or pw manager), and the 9 other questions they ask before you can actually check out.

On the flip side, if my Rownd account is compromised, are all the places it used too?

That is an interesting dilemma. As we grow and the average end-user goes from 1 to 5 to 10-20 sites that is being protected by Rownd, we will enforce greater and greater authentication schemes for Rownd.

The truth is, if your email is compromised right now, most sites will be compromised since "lost password" fall backs are sent over email. 2FA is the way to go into the future.

The heart of this issue is around how to authenticate users quickly and securely.

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