Developer API · updated 2026-08-22

The API security model, explained

This API was built approval-first and least-privilege from day one. This article explains each layer, both so you can trust it and so security reviewers on your side have their answers ready.

1. 1

   Approval-gated by humans

   No key exists until the Dumpster Controls team approves your written request. The approval gate is re-checked on EVERY request, so a platform-side revocation cuts all of a company's keys instantly. This is deliberate: a free platform with an open self-serve API would be an abuse magnet.

2. 2

   Keys are hashed, secrets shown once

   Only SHA-256 fingerprints of keys and one-time-displayed webhook secrets live in our database. Client applications, including our own web app, cannot read them back: management goes through audited server-side functions.

3. 3

   Company scoping on every query

   The company attached to your key is resolved server-side and injected into every database query. There is no parameter you could pass to see another company's data; cross-company lookups return 404 as if the record did not exist.

4. 4

   Field allowlists, not blocklists

   Every response is built from an explicit allowlist of fields. Consent records, internal notes, GPS coordinates, tokens, photos and risk states are simply never selected. New fields are added deliberately, never leaked by default.

5. 5

   No browser access, no CORS

   The API rejects browser preflights on purpose. This is a feature: it makes the "paste the key into your website" mistake fail loudly in development instead of silently shipping a leaked credential.

6. 6

   Money is out of scope

   Refunds, charges and price changes cannot be expressed in the API at all. Payment flows stay inside the platform with its own risk screening (Stripe Radar plus platform checks) and fraud protections. A stolen API key can read one company's operational data until revoked; it can never move a cent.

7. 7

   Abuse ends accounts

   Per our Terms of Service (section 13): fraud, scams, card fraud or API abuse lead to immediate revocation and suspension or permanent banning, without prior notice. We built the fraud screening that protects your payments; the same posture protects the platform.