What is Hosted Flow?
Hosted Flow runs the user-facing Relay verification on a Persona-hosted page. Instead of embedding the verification in your site, you open a Persona URL in a new tab and the user completes the check there.
It is the lightest client-side integration Relay offers. You construct a URL with the Relay session access token and open it.
When would you use it?
Choose Hosted Flow when you want to keep verification visibly separate from your own site, or when you want the smallest possible amount of client-side code.
For some organizations that separation is the point. A distinct, Persona-hosted experience helps reinforce for users that the verification is happening away from the platform asking for it, which is the whole idea behind Relay.
Choose the Embedded Widget instead when you want the check to feel inline in your own page. For native apps, see Relay on iOS and Android.
Two design choices worth understanding
Hosted Flow behaves in two ways that look like omissions and are actually deliberate.
It does not accept a referrer. A referrer header would disclose your site’s domain to Persona and create a signal that could associate the verification with your platform. Preventing that disclosure is part of Relay’s design, so open the page in a way that does not send one.
It does not redirect the user back to your site. A redirect destination would reveal your domain for the same reason. Because there is no redirect, your server learns the flow has finished by polling for the claim result rather than by receiving a callback.
You can set the theme to light, dark, or auto on the hosted page using a query parameter.
Try it
The public demo at explore.withpersona.com/relay includes the hosted experience, with an activity panel showing each step as it happens.
Full technical documentation
The developer documentation is the source of truth for the integration:
Plans Explained
Hosted Flow by plan
| Startup Program | Essential Plan | Growth Plan | Enterprise Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hosted Flow | Available | Available | Available | Available |