How to Check If My App Is Secure
Check your app's security by working through three layers: secrets (are API keys hidden?), access (is the database locked down?), and transport (is HTTPS enabled?). Use your platform's built-in security scanner if available, then manually verify the critical items.
Why this matters
Most builders skip security checks because they assume the tools handle it. AI-generated code can introduce vulnerabilities you would not write yourself — missing auth checks, exposed endpoints, or overly permissive database policies.
What's at stake
An insecure app can leak user data, run up API charges on your account, or get exploited by bots. A single exposed database table can undo months of trust-building with your users.
Step by step.
Check for exposed secrets
Search your codebase for API keys, database URLs, and passwords. Check your git history for accidentally committed .env files. Use GitHub's secret scanning alerts if your repo is on GitHub.
Verify database access controls
If you use Supabase, run: SELECT tablename, rowsecurity FROM pg_tables WHERE schemaname = 'public'; — any table showing false for rowsecurity with user data is a critical risk. For other databases, verify authentication is required.
Test authentication flows
If your app has login, try accessing protected pages without being logged in. Try accessing other users' data by changing IDs in the URL. If either works, your auth or authorization is broken.
Run your platform's security scanner
Lovable has a Security View, Bolt V2 has a security audit, and Replit has built-in security scanning. Run these tools and address any flagged issues before deploying.
Check HTTPS and security headers
Visit your deployed app and verify the URL starts with https://. Use a tool like securityheaders.com to check for missing security headers like Content-Security-Policy and Strict-Transport-Security.
Get a clear security status for your app
- Automated security checks that scan for the most common vulnerabilities
- Plain-language explanations of what each issue means and how to fix it
- Security readiness badge you can display to build user trust
Keep learning.
Frequently asked questions.
Yes. Most security issues in builder-made apps are basic configuration problems — exposed keys, missing RLS, no HTTPS. You can check all of these without any security background by following a step-by-step checklist.
Check before every major deployment, after adding new features that handle user data, and whenever you add a new third-party integration. Also check if you receive alerts from GitHub secret scanning or your hosting platform.
Missing Row Level Security on database tables, hardcoded API keys in frontend code, overly permissive CORS policies, and missing authentication on API routes. AI code generators often skip these protections.
Yes. Your AI builder likely has a built-in scanner. Additionally, GitHub scans for leaked secrets, securityheaders.com checks HTTP headers, and OWASP ZAP is a free open-source security scanner for web applications.