Authentication methods are used by Shopify Plus to ensure that only authorized networks and users have access to its API. Shopify Plus offers a variety of authentication methods to help you protect the data exposed by the API and the changes it allows.

Shopify Plus uses OAuth to authenticate API requests. This open authorization protocol allows clients to securely access data without revealing their credentials. It also allows third-party apps running on Shopify Plus to access customer data with permission while protecting customers from unauthorized access.

Additionally, Shopify Plus offers basic authentication to authenticate API requests. This authentication allows Shopify Plus to authenticate API requests using API keys and secret keys. Shopify Plus also uses Flask-HTTPAuth to authenticate API requests. This secure authentication library helps Shopify Plus generate and verify authentication credentials.

On top of these common authentication methods, Shopify Plus offers HMAC authentication to authenticate API requests. It is a type of authentication process that uses a cryptographic signature generated using a secret key and sent along with API requests.

To secure API requests, Shopify Plus offers token-based authentication. With this method, users receive authentication data in the form of a token that they can send with API requests. Shopify Plus also offers the use of signed URLs to authenticate API requests. This type of authentication requires users to provide a unique signature with each request, which authorizes any changes made through the API.

Finally, Shopify Plus also offers JSON web token authentication to authenticate API requests. This authentication is used to authorize API requests using data encoded in an internet token.

Overall, Shopify Plus offers multiple authentication methods to protect sensitive data and authorize API requests. By combining these authentication methods, Shopify Plus offers platform users maximum security and protection of their data.