Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures (WebBotAuth) vs Visa Trusted Agent Protocol (TAP)
The map lists them as complementary: sites and agents commonly implement both.
| Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures WebBotAuth | Visa Trusted Agent Protocol TAP | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifecycle step | 2 Identify: Who is this agent? Who is this site? | 2 Identify: Who is this agent? Who is this site? |
| Answers | Which automated client made this HTTP request, and can the origin verify it cryptographically? | How does a merchant recognize that an approved commerce agent, rather than a crawler or fraudulent bot, is interacting with its site or API? |
| Governed by | IETF webbotauth Working Group (chartered; document adopted as a WG item 2026-09-01) | Visa (single-vendor specification, published for merchant/developer adoption) |
| Status (issuer's words) | Active Internet-Draft, WG Document, Intended Status: Standards Track; expires 5 March 2027 | Active vendor-led merchant specification |
| Version | draft-ietf-webbotauth-httpsig-protocol-00, adopted by the webbotauth WG, 2026-09-01 (replaces the individual draft-meunier-webbotauth-httpsig-protocol, last revision -02 of 2026-08-18) (2026-09-01) | Current merchant specification, 2026, published on Visa Developer |
| Form / transport | HTTP header | HTTP header |
| Found at | /.well-known/http-message-signatures-directory | /keys |
| Implementation | multi-implementation — Cloudflare (edge verification, verified-bots program) and independent client/server implementations listed in the draft's own appendix | prototype — Visa's own launch announcement, naming ecosystem participants including Cloudflare |
| Evidence | 6 verified | 2 verified, 2 reported |
| Primary use case | Prove an agent's identity | Prove an agent's identity |
| Last verified | 2026-10-23 (current) | 2026-10-23 (current) |
| Specification | https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-webbotauth-httpsig-protocol/ | https://developer.visa.com/capabilities/trusted-agent-protocol/trusted-agent-protocol-specifications |
When to use which
- Choose Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures when your question is “Which automated client made this HTTP request, and can the origin verify it cryptographically?” and you accept its maturity: status "Active Internet-Draft, WG Document, Intended Status: Standards Track; expires 5 March 2027", implementation multi-implementation (Cloudflare (edge verification, verified-bots program) and independent client/server implementations listed in the draft's own appendix).
- Choose Visa Trusted Agent Protocol when your question is “How does a merchant recognize that an approved commerce agent, rather than a crawler or fraudulent bot, is interacting with its site or API?” and you accept its maturity: status "Active vendor-led merchant specification", implementation prototype (Visa's own launch announcement, naming ecosystem participants including Cloudflare).
Read the full articles
- Web Bot Auth HTTP Message Signatures: Which automated client made this HTTP request, and can the origin verify it cryptographically?
- Visa Trusted Agent Protocol: How does a merchant recognize that an approved commerce agent, rather than a crawler or fraudulent bot, is interacting with its site or API?