API Rate Limiting Best Practices for Secure Software

Without rate limits, login endpoints and contact forms become free attack surface. Fah Swe ships sliding-window limits (often Redis-backed) on auth, OTP, uploads, and public APIs.

Return honest HTTP 429 responses with Retry-After when possible. Log fingerprints of abusive IPs and user agents. Combine app limits with Cloudflare or similar WAF at the edge.

Different routes need different budgets: password login stricter than read-only catalog. Token minting for WebRTC should be especially tight.

CAPTCHA belongs on sensitive anonymous forms, not on every authenticated dashboard click. Balance friction and safety.

For Bangladesh software companies serving global traffic, geo anomalies and botnets are real. Monitoring and alerts close the loop.

Ask Fah Swe for an API hardening review — we map endpoints, propose limits, and implement them in your stack.