Video streaming app security
Video streaming app security checklist
Before you launch a video streaming app, check authz, uploads, pii, abuse and content-safety. The rules below are the ones this category most often gets wrong; each one is concrete enough to test.
Last checked
Security: authz
- A single canWatch(user, video) gate decides playback; creators may only edit their own videos; all queries are RLS-scoped by owner or user.
- Manifest and segment URLs are signed and short-lived when content is not public; public videos still never expose the source bucket.
Security: uploads
- Validate declared size and MIME, then verify container magic bytes and probe with ffprobe in the sandboxed worker; reject on duration, resolution or codec outside the allowed set.
Security: pii
- Watch history is personal data: stored per user under RLS, excluded from logs, exportable and deletable on request.
Security: abuse
- Per-user upload and transcode quotas, report/takedown flow, strike policy, and hotlink protection on signed manifests.
Security: content-safety
- Uploaded video is untrusted content: virus-scan source objects, hash-match against a known-bad list where a provider exists, and require a review path before public visibility for new accounts.
Security: compliance
- Signed URLs deter casual copying but are not DRM; the product must not promise studio-grade protection without a DRM provider.
Compliance notes
- GDPR (applies to EU users): Watch history and profiles are personal data: consent for personalisation, export and erase endpoints, retention limits on watch_events.
- Copyright / DMCA (applies to user-uploaded video): Provide a notice-and-takedown flow, repeat-infringer policy and a designated contact; creators warrant they own the rights.
- DRM and licensing (applies to licensed or premium content): Studio or licensed catalogs normally contractually require Widevine/FairPlay/PlayReady; signed URLs do not satisfy that. Plan a DRM provider before onboarding licensed content.
- Children and age ratings (applies to mixed-age audience): Maturity ratings, kids profiles and COPPA/age-gating if minors are an audience.
Limits that stop abuse and surprise bills
- video storage gb: per-plan cap, uploads refused at 100% of quota.
- video transcode minutes month: per-plan cap enforced before a job is queued.
- video egress gb month: per-plan cap; manifest issue refused over the ceiling.
Test it yourself before launch
Forge64 gives every app its own Postgres database and runs a quality gate that flags unauthenticated writes and secrets in client code before you see the app. It does not replace your own testing, and it holds no third-party security certification today.
This is a reference design for the category, not a promise that every item is generated today. Built-ins such as email, background jobs, file uploads and search are coming soon, so anything here that needs them is something you add yourself for now.
- Sign in as two different users and try to open each other's records by changing the id in the address.
- Submit each form with an empty value, a very long value and a script tag, and check the result.
- Call each write endpoint without signing in and check that it refuses.
FAQ
- What is the biggest security risk in a video streaming app?
- A single canWatch(user, video) gate decides playback; creators may only edit their own videos; all queries are RLS-scoped by owner or user.
- Does a video streaming app have compliance obligations?
- GDPR, if you have EU users: Watch history and profiles are personal data: consent for personalisation, export and erase endpoints, retention limits on watch_events. This is a starting point, not legal advice.
- Will Forge64 certify my app as secure?
- No. Forge64 holds no third-party security certification today and does not certify apps. The checklist is a way to test your own app.
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