SwiftUI Rate Limiting & Backpressure (Protect Your Backend From Your Own App)

Most apps call APIs like this: try await api . fetchFeed () That works… until something triggers many requests at once. Examples: infinite refresh loops aggressive background sync multiple views requesting the same data retry storms after network recovery multiple devices syncing simultaneously Suddenly your app becomes the biggest threat to your own backend. This post shows how to implement rate limiting and backpressure in SwiftUI so your networking layer is: backend-safe quota-aware retry-friendly battery-conscious production-grade 🧠 The Core Principle A healthy system controls its request rate. Even when everything is working, uncontrolled traffic can overload APIs. 🧱 1. What Is Rate Limiting? Rate limiting controls how many requests can occur during a time window. Example rule: 10 requests per second If more requests arrive, they must: wait queue or be rejected This protects both: the backend the client device 🧬 2. Token Bucket Model A common approach is the token bucket algorithm