WebFinger
RFC 7033

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Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)                          P. Jones
Request for Comments: 7033                                  G. Salgueiro
Category: Standards Track                                  Cisco Systems
ISSN: 2070-1721                                                 M. Jones
                                                               Microsoft
                                                                J. Smarr
                                                                  Google
                                                          September 2013

                               WebFinger

Abstract

   This specification defines the WebFinger protocol, which can be used
   to discover information about people or other entities on the
   Internet using standard HTTP methods.  WebFinger discovers
   information for a URI that might not be usable as a locator
   otherwise, such as account or email URIs.

Status of This Memo

   This is an Internet Standards Track document.

   This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force
   (IETF).  It represents the consensus of the IETF community.  It has
   received public review and has been approved for publication by the
   Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG).  Further information on
   Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 5741.

   Information about the current status of this document, any errata,
   and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at
   http://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7033.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (c) 2013 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the
   document authors.  All rights reserved.

   This document is subject to BCP 78 and the IETF Trust's Legal
   Provisions Relating to IETF Documents
   (http://trustee.ietf.org/license-info) in effect on the date of
   publication of this document.  Please review these documents
   carefully, as they describe your rights and restrictions with respect
   to this document.  Code Components extracted from this document must
   include Simplified BSD License text as described in Section 4.e of
   the Trust Legal Provisions and are provided without warranty as
   described in the Simplified BSD License.

Jones, et al.                Standards Track                    [Page 1]
RFC 7033                        WebFinger                 September 2013

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................3
   2. Terminology .....................................................3
   3. Example Uses of WebFinger .......................................4
      3.1. Identity Provider Discovery for OpenID Connect .............4
      3.2. Getting Author and Copyright Information for a Web Page ....5
   4. WebFinger Protocol ..............................................7
        4.1. Constructing the Query Component of the Request URI.......7
        4.2. Performing a WebFinger Query..............................8
        4.3. The "rel" Parameter.......................................9
        4.4. The JSON Resource Descriptor (JRD).......................11
           4.4.1. subject.............................................11
           4.4.2. aliases.............................................11
           4.4.3. properties..........................................12
           4.4.4. links...............................................12
        4.5. WebFinger and URIs.......................................14
   5. Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) ...........................14
   6. Access Control .................................................15
   7. Hosted WebFinger Services ......................................15
   8. Definition of WebFinger Applications ...........................16
      8.1. Specification of the URI Scheme and URI ...................17
      8.2. Host Resolution ...........................................17
      8.3. Specification of Properties ...............................17
      8.4. Specification of Links ....................................18
      8.5. One URI, Multiple Applications ............................18
      8.6. Registration of Link Relation Types and Properties ........19
   9. Security Considerations ........................................19
      9.1. Transport-Related Issues ..................................19
      9.2. User Privacy Considerations ...............................19
      9.3. Abuse Potential ...........................................21
      9.4. Information Reliability ...................................21
   10. IANA Considerations ...........................................22
      10.1. Well-Known URI ...........................................22
      10.2. JSON Resource Descriptor (JRD) Media Type ................22
      10.3. Registering Link Relation Types ..........................24
      10.4. Establishment of the "WebFinger Properties" Registry .....24
           10.4.1. The Registration Template .........................24