Netlify Identity is staying (Feb 2026 reversal) - what changed, who's affected, and how to proceed

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Posting this as a community summary. Netlify staff have not created a forum thread for the February 19 2026 reversal so I am consolidating the sources in one place for anyone in the middle of migrating. I welcome any corrections.

On February 19 2026 Netlify updated their Identity deprecation blog post at Netlify + Auth0: Platform extensibility and Identity changes | Netlify to announce that Netlify Identity will continue as a supported authentication option. The reversal was made by editing the blog post in place. The original deprecation changelog at netlify.com/changelog/deprecation-netlify-identity/ is no longer available which is why a lot of people who are in the middle of migrating are still confused. Many forum threads and even some replies from Netlify staff from 2025 are now outdated.

The reversal in Netlifys words

From the updated blog post the note at the top says:

Netlify Identity will continue as a supported authentication option on Netlify. This post has been updated to reflect that change. Earlier Netlify announced plans to stop supporting Netlify Identity when the Auth0 extension was introduced. Since then Netlify has heard from developers who rely on Netlify Identity in production.

And the four points that Netlify is committing to:

  • You do not have to migrate to anything new
  • Netlify Identity will continue to be available and supported within the Netlify platform
  • Netlify Identity will work with existing implementations
  • Netlify will keep updating Netlify Identity to make it more reliable and secure

The Netlify Identity overview documents confirm: “Netlify Identity is available on all credit-based plans at no extra cost.”

Why you are seeing information

If you have been searching this forum or Netlify documents in the last few months you may have come across:

  • Forum threads from mid-2025 saying “Netlify Identity is no longer supported use Auth0 instead”
  • Replies from Netlify staff advising people to use Edge Functions for custom authentication as a workaround
  • Migration guides on third-party blogs
  • Decap CMS users moving to DecapBridge as a workaround

All of that information was correct before February 19 2026. None of it has been updated since then. The blog post and documents are the source of truth for Netlify Identity.

Who this affects

If you never migrated to anything you do not need to do anything. Netlify Identity will continue to work as it did before. You can ignore the Auth0 extension if it does not fit your needs.

If you fully migrated to Auth0 you do not need to roll back. The Auth0 extension will still be supported alongside Netlify Identity. If Auth0 works for you you can stay with it.

If you partially migrated you need to choose a path:

  • You can roll back to Netlify Identity: re-enable it in Project configuration then follow the setup guide at Add Identity to your project | Netlify Docs to set up your code to work with the new @netlify/identity package.
  • You can finish the Auth0 migration: this is an option if you actually need what Auth0 offers.

Stay with Netlify Identity if

  • You want Netlify Identity to work tightly with Netlify and have setup
  • You are using Decap CMS, where Netlify Identity is your gateway
  • You are working on prototypes, side projects, internal tools or small client sites
  • Your authentication needs are met by what Netlify Identity offers today

Move to Auth0 if

According to Netlifys announcement the Auth0 extension is for teams that need:

  • -factor authentication
  • Enterprise single sign-on
  • Support for many social and enterprise providers

If those are not on your list of requirements Netlify Identity is the simpler choice.

Important: the recommended package has changed

This is the thing to miss. From the Netlify Identity setup documents:

Previously Netlify recommended the Netlify Identity widget or the gotrue-js library. For projects Netlify recommends @netlify/identity instead.

So if you are starting a project in 2026 you should install @netlify/identity, not netlify-identity-widget. The new package supports:

  • A API
  • Server-side use in Serverless Functions and Edge Functions
  • Examples for Next.js, Astro, Remix, SvelteKit
  • Protection against CSRF attacks
  • Agent Runner setup

If you have an existing site running netlify-identity-widget it still works. Netlify has not stopped supporting it.. For new code you should use @netlify/identity.

sources

All of these sources reflect the February 19 2026 reversal.

If you notice something missing or have a migration case that this does not cover, please reply with the details. I am happy to keep this updated.

Alternative to Netlify identity for CMS access
Role-based access with auth0 as successor of Netlify Identity