What is the main purpose of the OAuth protocol in security architecture?

The OAuth protocol serves the primary purpose of enabling secure authorization between applications without exposing user credentials. It allows users to grant third-party applications limited access to their resources (like APIs) without sharing their passwords. This mechanism is essential in scenarios where users wish to access services provided by different platforms while maintaining control over their sensitive information.

Through OAuth, a user can authorize an application to access data on their behalf—like posting on social media or retrieving profile information—while keeping their login credentials safe and separate from that application. This separation mitigates the risk of credential theft and is particularly important in today’s ecosystem where multiple services interact and collaborate frequently.

The other choices, while related to aspects of security or functionality, do not encapsulate the core purpose of OAuth. Secure login forms pertain to authentication, not the authorization that OAuth provides. Managing network traffic is a more general network function that does not specifically relate to OAuth's capabilities. Encrypting sensitive data concerns confidentiality and does not directly describe the role of granting access that is central to OAuth's design.