Techniques are provided for preserving content during a network transaction. A client issues a content-bearing request to a desired service. At the time the request is issued, the client is not authenticated to the service. The content associated with the content-bearing request is preserved and associated with a modified request. The modified request and a redirection to an authentication service are sent to the client. The client authenticates and transparently sends the modified request. The modified request is used for reacquiring the content. The content-bearing request along with the content are sent to the desired service for processing.