Stop Leaking Api Keys: The Backend For Frontend (BFF) Pattern Explained
Security Boulevard, Thursday, January 8th, 2026
TL;DR: Frontend applications (SPAs, mobile apps, desktop clients) cannot securely store secrets: any embedded API key is extractable by users and attackers.
The Backend for Frontend (BFF) pattern solves this by placing a server-side layer between your frontend and third-party APIs. The BFF holds the secrets; the frontend never sees them.
For production deployments, use a secrets manager (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault) rather than environment variables to enable rotation and auditing.
A BFF adds infrastructure complexity, but for any API key with financial or administrative implications, the tradeoff is worth it.