Protecting API keys used in browser front-end apps: Chat with Gemini
Given below are extracts from a recent chat with Gemini. The context is a Blogger page with Javascript code that makes Blogger v3.0 API calls which need a Google API key. I had introduced restrictions on the key like websites it can be used on and that it is enabled only for Blogger API. Me: While with above restritions the API key is less exposed to misuse, I am still quite uneasy about having the API key so easily accessible. In this context, I am curious whether if we convert this into a React project and use the API key as an environment variable, will that prevent the API key from getting exposed to the user? Gem: You've hit upon a critical distinction in web development security! While using environment variables in a React project is a great practice for managing API keys during development and deployment, it generally does not prevent the API key from being exposed to the end-user's browser if the code runs entirely on the client-side. Let's break this down: 1. En...