To which of my accounts do I grant permissions in the oauth flow?

Question

I have 2 or 3 atlassian accounts. I sometimes switch between them. Without leaving this page, how do I know to which of them I grant privileges?

I took a gamble and clicked on approve, they are mine anyway but I don't have full permissions with one of them, so it's correct that I was presented with the "access denied" screen. But even then, whats my account? My initials are not very helpful because obviously they are always the same.

Arkadiusz Wroblewski · Answer

@Tim Helfensdörfer

Fair point. I see the distinction now. You aren't asking how to force the right login, you want to know how to identify the active account directly on that consent page before clicking approve.

Using a private window forces a clean login, but it's just a workaround, it doesn't fix the core UX flaw you're highlighting here.

Best,

Arkadiusz🤠

Tim Helfensdörfer · Answer

> Initials aren't enough when managing multiple accounts.

I don't agree because security decisions shouldn't be based on a profile picture at all.

> The OAuth screen simply targets whichever profile is currently active in your browser session.

I know, I want to know which one is the active browser session.

> Cancel the flow and run the process in a private window to force a clean login with the correct account.

Sounds cumbersome.

> The access-denied error strongly suggests the wrong profile was pulled in, or it lacks the required site permissions.

I know: "so it's correct that I was presented with the "access denied" screen"

But I appreciate your response!

Arkadiusz Wroblewski · Answer

Hello @Tim Helfensdörfer

Initials aren't enough when managing multiple accounts. The OAuth screen simply targets whichever profile is currently active in your browser session.

Cancel the flow and run the process in a private window to force a clean login with the correct account. The access-denied error strongly suggests the wrong profile was pulled in, or it lacks the required site permissions. If you've already authorized the wrong one, you can easily revoke it under your Connected apps settings and start fresh.

I completely agree with your feedback.

Best,

Arkadiusz🤠