Steemit - arealive/Viper GitHub Wiki
While steemit.com (owned by Steemit, Inc.) is the first and reference front-end website interface for the blockchain content of Steem, the network's open and permissionless nature allows third-party websites and apps to connect and interact with the Steem database and blockchain. A frontend website portal is known as a faucet. Several faucets have been created by third parties...
Non-Steemit apps and websites use the same Steem user credentials as used on Steemit. This is possible because the user account and password are part of the network database, using public-key cryptography. Only the user who owns an account can authenticate actions such as commenting, voting, or transferring with their password or appropriate key. Each account has a set of private keys with different access privileges. The lowest security level key allows posting, commenting and voting, but not transfers of currency. Therefore, with a hierarchy of keys, it is possible to use other Steem faucets without risking a loss of funds or account control.1