public application

A public application is an application that allows anonymousAn anonymous user is an individual who does not have an ArcGIS account and interacts with a user's content or an ArcGIS product, portal, or application. An anonymous user's identity is not authenticated, and they can only interact with ArcGIS resources that are public.Learn more without users to sign in with an ArcGIS account. It supports API key authenticationAPI key authentication is a type of authentication that uses an API key to authenticate requests to ArcGIS services and secure portal items.Learn more or app authenticationApp authentication is a type of authentication that grants a short-lived access token based on an OAuth 2.0 client ID and client secret, authorizing an application to access ArcGIS services and items.Learn more to authenticate requests.

The access tokens used in a public application are associated with the developer's ArcGIS account. They have access to a limited set of privileges, including privileges to access ArcGIS Location ServicesArcGIS Location Services, also referred to as Location Services, are services hosted by Esri that provide geospatial functionality for developing mapping applications. They include the ArcGIS Basemap Styles service, ArcGIS Static Basemap Tiles service, ArcGIS Places service, ArcGIS Geocoding service, ArcGIS Routing service, ArcGIS GeoEnrichment service, and ArcGIS Elevation service. An ArcGIS Location Platform or ArcGIS Online account is required to use the services.Learn more and individual portal itemsAn item, also known as a content item, is a resource stored in a portal such as a web map, hosted layer, style, script tool, file, or notebook.Learn more.

Public applications are commonly built for users who do not have an ArcGIS accountAn ArcGIS account is an identity with a user type and set of privileges that can access specific ArcGIS products, tools, APIs, services, and resources. The main account types that can be used for development are an ArcGIS Location Platform account, ArcGIS Online account, and ArcGIS Enterprise account. ArcGIS Location Platform and ArcGIS Online accounts are also associated with a subscription.Learn more. Some use cases include:

• A public mapping and navigation app that accesses the ArcGIS Geocoding, Routing, or Places services.
• A data browser app that accesses the ArcGIS GeoEnrichment service and additional data layers.
• A restricted application that uses third-party credentials for authentication instead of ArcGIS.

Developers with an ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise account may choose to omit authentication in public apps if the application only accesses items and resources with a sharing levelSharing level is the security setting assigned to an item in a portal that controls which users can access the resource. The sharing levels are Owner, Organization, Groups, and Everyone.Learn more of Everyone (public).