# Create Identities

**Identities** allow Apono to restrict resource access to specified, authenticated users or groups.

Apono identities can come from two different sources.

<table><thead><tr><th width="192">Source</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Identity Provider (IdP)</strong></td><td>(<strong>Strongly recommended</strong>) Apono integrates with your IdP service and syncs your user context information. This allows you to manage user access from the Apono UI based on your existing IdP setup.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Apono UI</strong></td><td>The Apono UI allows you to create users and groups within the platform. You can use these identities to manage access.</td></tr></tbody></table>

{% hint style="warning" %}
Creating users or groups in the Apono UI may duplicate or conflict with identities from your IdP. Because of this, we recommend using **only** IdP-integrated identities.
{% endhint %}

***

### Prerequisite

<table><thead><tr><th width="192">Item</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>IdP Integration</strong></td><td><p>(<strong>Strongly recommended</strong>) Apono integration with an identity provider service to manage user and group access</p><p>When you integrate with an IdP, the Apono system fetches your existing users and groups. These identities will appear on the <strong>Identities</strong> page.</p><p><br>For more information, learn how to <a href="../additional-integrations/identity-providers">integrate with an IdP</a>.</p></td></tr></tbody></table>

***

### Create an identity

You can [add users](#add-a-user) and [create group identities](#create-a-group) in the Apono UI.

#### Add a user

<figure><img src="https://1094436629-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fv6MBfUGvblSdAz31yJXm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-d225cd385738bbc706b297f3227f70c763fd15da%2F2024-09-27_17-46-55.png?alt=media" alt="" width="375"><figcaption><p><em>Invite User menu</em></p></figcaption></figure>

Follow these steps to add a user to the Apono UI:

1. On the [**Identities**](https://app.apono.io/identities) page, on the **Users** tab, click **Add User**. The **Profile** popup window appears.
2. From the portal’s left navigation, click **Users > Invite User**. The **Invite User** popup window appears.
3. Under **Email & Role**, enter the email address of the user.
4. From the dropdown menu, select a role for the user to assume in Apono.

<table><thead><tr><th width="201">Role</th><th>Description</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Admin</strong></td><td>Has access to resources by default and grants access to resources</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Grantee</strong></td><td>Requests and receives access to resources</td></tr></tbody></table>

5. Enter the **Full Name** of the user.

{% hint style="info" %}
This name will be used to identify the user on the **Identities** page and in [access flows](https://docs.apono.io/docs/access-flows/access-flows).
{% endhint %}

6. (Optional) Enter the **Phone Number** of the user, including the country code.
7. Click **Invite**. The **Invite User** menu closes, and an invitation link is sent to the user’s email.
8. In the top right corner of the page, click **X**. The **Profile** window closes, and the user receives an email invitation to the Apono UI.

After adding a user, you can create an [access flow](https://docs.apono.io/docs/access-flows/access-flows) to define the resources to which the user can request access. You can also add the user to a group.

#### Create a group

<figure><img src="https://1094436629-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2Fv6MBfUGvblSdAz31yJXm%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-db74864d810727b8066ad67fd015f4bf9952b5df%2F2024-09-27_17-50-47.png?alt=media" alt="" width="375"><figcaption><p><em>Create Group menu</em></p></figcaption></figure>

Follow these steps to create a group in the Apono UI:

1. On the [**Identities**](https://app.apono.io/identities) page, on the **Groups** tab, click **Create group**. The **Create Group** popup window appears.
2. Enter a **Group name**.

{% hint style="info" %}
This name will be used to identify the group and its members on the **Identities** page and in [access flows](https://docs.apono.io/docs/access-flows/access-flows).
{% endhint %}

3. From the **Users** dropdown menu, select one or more users to associate with the group.

{% hint style="success" %}
To locate a user, you can type the user’s name into the search bar.
{% endhint %}

4. Click **Create**. The group appears as a list item on the **Groups** tab.

After creating a group, you can use the group to define requesters in an [access flow](https://docs.apono.io/docs/access-flows/access-flows).