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What is Bearer Token?

A Bearer Token is a security credential sent in the HTTP Authorization header (e.g. Authorization: Bearer <token>) granting access to protected API resources.

  • Glossary
  • API security
  • Published

How it works

Whoever holds the bearer token is granted access. Tokens are typically JSON Web Tokens (JWT) or opaque string tokens issued via OAuth 2.0 or API key gateways.

Common mistakes

  • Passing bearer tokens in query parameters where logs index them
  • Failing to validate token expiration
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