Why you sign in with Google, Microsoft or Apple

To sign, you show that you control the email address the sender invited. Sovrasign checks this with the account that already goes with that address:

• Google for Gmail addresses and for work or school addresses run by Google.
• Microsoft for Outlook.com, Hotmail, Live and MSN addresses, and for work or school addresses run by Microsoft 365.
• Apple for iCloud addresses.

The invitation says which one Sovrasign expects, for example "You'll confirm it's you with the Google account for this address."

What happens when you select "Sign with ..."

1. A window opens at Google's, Microsoft's or Apple's own sign-in page. You can check its address bar.
2. You sign in there. Sovrasign never sees your password.
3. The provider tells Sovrasign that you control the address. That confirmation is tied to this exact document and to your signature, so it cannot be reused for anything else.
4. The confirmation is sealed into the signed PDF. Anyone who checks the PDF later can see who confirmed your address when you signed.

The provider learns that you signed in to Sovrasign, as with any "Sign in with" button. We give them your email address as a hint only after you select their button.

Which button you see

The page offers the likely one first, from your address or the way you signed for this sender before. The others, and a code sent by email, are under Other ways. Any of them works if it proves the invited address.

With Google, Microsoft or Apple you sign in at the top of the page, before you fill in the fields. When you press Finish and sign, the provider confirms it once more for this exact document; with Google and Microsoft this usually takes a moment, with no new sign-in.

Remember Microsoft as my sign-in on this device (it names your method; not checked unless you check it) makes that method come first next time in this browser. It keeps only a coded version of your address and the method's name, never the address itself. Forget this device removes it.

Problems

• "You signed in as ..., but this document is for ..." (error code identity_mismatch) You used another account. Sign in again with the account of the address in the invitation (in the sign-in window, choose another account if it offers the wrong one), or use the email code the page now offers first.
• Apple shared a private relay address. If you chose "Hide My Email" for Sovrasign, Apple gives an address ending in privaterelay.appleid.com, which is not the invited one. Use the email code, or stop using Sign in with Apple for Sovrasign in your Apple Account settings and sign in again with "Share My Email".
• "The browser blocked the sign-in window": allow pop-ups for the signing page and select the button again, or use the email code the page now offers first.
• "... sign-in is not working right now" (error code provider_unavailable): that provider is down or did not answer. The page offers the email code first; the sender sees why you used it.
• "The sign-in took too long; try again": the window waits 5 minutes. Select the button again. Cancel sign-in stops a sign-in you started.
• The sign-in request was refused as malformed (error code nonce_invalid). Open the link from your invitation email again and select the button again, or use the email code.
• Your address has no Google, Microsoft or Apple account. You can create a free Microsoft account with an email address you already use, then sign in with it. Or ask the sender to invite an address that has one.

Questions about the document itself? Contact the sender: their name and email address are in the invitation and at the top of the signing page. Sovrasign cannot change the document or give legal advice.