Abstract: Systems, methods, and techniques are directed to application authentication based on registration with an application registration service. In an example, an application frontend registers with the application registration service and receives a registration key. The application frontend provides a proof of possessing the registration key and a credential of application frontend or an associated account to an authentication service. The authentication service determines an authenticity of the application frontend or the account based on the credential and determines a validity of the proof of possession. Responsive to the authentication and validation, the authentication service provides an artifact to application frontend. The application frontend utilizes the artifact to access an application backend and/or a resource thereof.