Understanding the differences between access and ID tokens is crucial for building secure applications, as they serve distinct roles in authentication and authorization within protocols like OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect. Access tokens, often using JSON Web Token (JWT) format, enable secure authorization by granting user permissions and are usually valid for 60 to 90 minutes. ID tokens, also typically in JWT format, are primarily used for authentication to verify user identity and may last the length of an access session. While access tokens facilitate user access, ID tokens confirm identity, and both are often used in tandem with refresh tokens, which allow for re-generating access tokens to maintain seamless access. The blog suggests using dedicated identity and access management solutions, such as Descope, to simplify token management, which provides robust security features and user-friendly interfaces for easy integration.