diff --git a/auth/auth.go b/auth/auth.go
index d18b0e38..761e742a 100644
--- a/auth/auth.go
+++ b/auth/auth.go
@@ -3,11 +3,8 @@ package auth
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"time"
-
-	"github.com/micro/go-micro/v2/metadata"
 )
 
 var (
@@ -90,8 +87,6 @@ type Token struct {
 const (
 	// DefaultNamespace used for auth
 	DefaultNamespace = "go.micro"
-	// MetadataKey is the key used when storing the account in metadata
-	MetadataKey = "auth-account"
 	// TokenCookieName is the name of the cookie which stores the auth token
 	TokenCookieName = "micro-token"
 	// SecretCookieName is the name of the cookie which stores the auth secret
@@ -100,34 +95,18 @@ const (
 	BearerScheme = "Bearer "
 )
 
+type accountKey struct{}
+
 // AccountFromContext gets the account from the context, which
 // is set by the auth wrapper at the start of a call. If the account
 // is not set, a nil account will be returned. The error is only returned
 // when there was a problem retrieving an account
-func AccountFromContext(ctx context.Context) (*Account, error) {
-	str, ok := metadata.Get(ctx, MetadataKey)
-	// there was no account set
-	if !ok {
-		return nil, nil
-	}
-
-	var acc *Account
-	// metadata is stored as a string, so unmarshal to an account
-	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(str), &acc); err != nil {
-		return nil, err
-	}
-
-	return acc, nil
+func AccountFromContext(ctx context.Context) (*Account, bool) {
+	acc, ok := ctx.Value(accountKey{}).(*Account)
+	return acc, ok
 }
 
 // ContextWithAccount sets the account in the context
-func ContextWithAccount(ctx context.Context, account *Account) (context.Context, error) {
-	// metadata is stored as a string, so marshal to bytes
-	bytes, err := json.Marshal(account)
-	if err != nil {
-		return ctx, err
-	}
-
-	// generate a new context with the MetadataKey set
-	return metadata.Set(ctx, MetadataKey, string(bytes)), nil
+func ContextWithAccount(ctx context.Context, account *Account) context.Context {
+	return context.WithValue(ctx, accountKey{}, account)
 }
diff --git a/util/wrapper/wrapper.go b/util/wrapper/wrapper.go
index e5ce4bb1..bfd1ce9f 100644
--- a/util/wrapper/wrapper.go
+++ b/util/wrapper/wrapper.go
@@ -178,10 +178,7 @@ func AuthHandler(fn func() auth.Auth) server.HandlerWrapper {
 			}
 
 			// There is an account, set it in the context
-			ctx, err = auth.ContextWithAccount(ctx, account)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
+			ctx = auth.ContextWithAccount(ctx, account)
 
 			// The user is authorised, allow the call
 			return h(ctx, req, rsp)