In 2021, the landscape of authentication for web applications evolved significantly as traditional solutions struggled to meet the demands of modern frameworks like Next.js and users' increasing preference for diverse sign-in options. Previously, frameworks such as Rails used libraries like Devise to manage authentication, but modern environments require solutions that can operate across multiple contexts, such as API routes, edge middleware, and various React rendering methods, without shared memory or logic. Tools like Hasura and Supabase allow frontend developers to query data directly, necessitating secure user authentication that is integrated into the data query process. The need for robust, out-of-the-box authentication solutions has spurred interest in services like Clerk, which offers native support for modern frameworks and facilitates easy integration of social sign-ins and other advanced authentication methods. This shift is driven by data showing that options like "Sign in with Google" significantly improve user conversion rates. Clerk's offerings allow developers to experiment with different authentication strategies without extensive code changes, and the company plans to expand its suite with features like Enterprise SAML, FaceID, and Web3 solutions. As authentication complexities grow, more development teams are expected to outsource their solutions to specialized services like Clerk.