# Accounts and sign-in

## What an account is

[Section titled “What an account is”](#what-an-account-is)

An account ties apps and invitations to you personally, not to a password. If you own an app (because your agent deployed it under your name), your account is how Homespun knows that. If someone invites you to a private app they own, your account is how Homespun knows to let you in.

There’s no username-and-password login. You sign in one of two ways, and both start from your email address.

## Option 1: sign in with Google

[Section titled “Option 1: sign in with Google”](#option-1-sign-in-with-google)

If your email is a Google account, “Continue with Google” is the fastest option: one click, one confirmation on Google’s own page, and you’re back.

This doesn’t work inside every browser. If you tapped a Homespun link from inside another app’s built-in browser (a chat app, a social app), Google blocks or degrades its own sign-in there for security reasons on Google’s side, not Homespun’s. If the Google button looks disabled or sign-in fails, open the page in Safari or Chrome instead, or use the email option below, which works everywhere.

## Option 2: sign in with an emailed link

[Section titled “Option 2: sign in with an emailed link”](#option-2-sign-in-with-an-emailed-link)

Enter your email and Homespun sends you a one-time sign-in link. Click it and you’re in. No password to create or remember.

* The link expires **15 minutes** after it’s sent. Request a new one if it’s gone stale.
* Once you’re signed in, you generally stay signed in for about a month before you need to sign in again.

## Why there’s no password

[Section titled “Why there’s no password”](#why-theres-no-password)

Homespun accounts exist to know *who you are* well enough to gate private apps and attribute what you add to shared collections, they aren’t a place you store other data or manage a profile. A password would be one more thing to lose without adding much: both sign-in options already confirm you control the email address (or Google account) tied to your identity.

## Where to go next

[Section titled “Where to go next”](#where-to-go-next)

* [Opening a shared app](/people/opening-a-shared-app/) for what happens right after you sign in.
* [Visibility, explained](/people/visibility-explained/) for how your account relates to what you can see in a given app.