---
title: "Authentication"
description: "How to authenticate SocialData API requests with your API key, where to find your key and how to send the Authorization header."
source: "https://docs.socialdata.tools/getting-started/authentication/"
---

> **Summary**
> 
> Include your API key as `Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY` header with all requests

Each request to the SocialData API needs to contain your API key. All unauthenticated requests are rejected.

## Obtaining Your API Key

To authenticate with the SocialData API, you will need to obtain an API key. This key must be included in the `Authorization: Bearer` header of every HTTP request you make. Follow these steps to get your API key:

-   Sign Up: [Create an account](https://socialdata.tools/signup?utm_source=docs) on the SocialData platform.
-   API Key: After signing up, generate your API key in your user dashboard. Keep this key confidential, as it is your private access to the API.

## Using Your API Key

Once you have your API key, you can use it in the Authorization header with the keyword ‘Bearer’ followed by a space and then your token. Here’s an example of what the Authorization header should look like:

`Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY`

Here’s a sample cURL request to illustrate how to include the Authorization header in your API calls:

```bash
curl -X GET "https://api.socialdata.tools/twitter/tweets/1740192018918170738" \
    -H "Accept: application/json" \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
```

API keys do not have an expiration date. However, you are free to generate a new API key at any moment in your user dashboard.

> **Important!**
> 
> Do not expose your API key publicly. Treat it as you would your password, as it grants access to your SocialData API service and budget.

## Next steps

-   [Make your first request](https://docs.socialdata.tools/reference/get-user-profile/) with the Get user profile endpoint
-   [Rate limits](https://docs.socialdata.tools/getting-started/rate-limits/) — how many requests you can make per minute
-   [Errors](https://docs.socialdata.tools/getting-started/errors/) — what to do when a request fails
-   [Pricing](https://docs.socialdata.tools/getting-started/pricing/) — what each request costs