A registered user is a
user
Ancient Egyptian roles
* User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty
* Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User"
Other uses
* User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...
of a
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and W ...
,
program
Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to:
Business and management
* Program management, the process of managing several related projects
* Time management
* Program, a part of planning
Arts and entertainment Audio
* Programm ...
, or other systems who has previously ''registered.'' Registered users normally provide some sort of
credentials (such as a username or e-mail address, and a password) to the system in order to prove their identity: this is known as
logging in
In computer security, logging in (or logging on, signing in, or signing on) is the process by which an individual gains access to a computer system by identifying and authenticating themselves. The user credentials are typically some fo ...
. Systems intended for use by the general public often allow any user to register simply by selecting a ''register'' or ''sign up'' function and providing these credentials for the first time. Registered users may be granted privileges beyond those granted to unregistered users.
Rationale
User registration and login enables a system to
personalize itself. For example, a website might display a welcome banner with the user's name and change its
appearance or behavior according to preferences indicated by the user. The system may also allow a logged-in user to send and receive messages, and to view and modify personal files or other information.
Criticism
Privacy concerns
Registration necessarily provides more personal information to a system than it would otherwise have. Even if the credentials used are otherwise meaningless, the system can distinguish a logged-in user from other users and might use this property to store a history of users' actions or activity, possibly without their knowledge or consent. While many systems have
privacy policies
A privacy policy is a statement or legal document (in privacy law) that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client's data. Personal information can be anything that can be used to identify ...
, depending on the nature of the system, a user might not have any way of knowing for certain exactly what information is stored, how it is used, and with whom, if anyone, it is shared.
A system could even sell information it has gathered on its users to third parties for advertising or other purposes. The subject of systems' transparency in this regard is one of ongoing debate.
User inconvenience
Registration may be seen as an annoyance or hindrance,
especially if it is not inherently necessary or important (for example, in the context of a
search engine) or if the system repeatedly prompts users to register. A system's registration process might also be time-consuming or require that the user provide the information they might be reluctant to, such as a home address or
social security number.
See also
References
{{Reflist
Computer access control