> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.protecto.ai/llms.txt).
> Use it to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Rate Limits

How Protecto rate limits apply per namespace and subscription tier, and how to handle 429 responses.


Rate limits apply per namespace and subscription tier.

## Rate limit behavior

| Account type | Behavior |
|-------------|---------|
| POC/Trial access | For POC/Trial access, contact us at sales@protecto.ai |
| Production accounts | Tier-based limits |
| Exceeded limit | HTTP 429 with error message |

## Error response

```json
{
  "data": null,
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "message": "API usage limit exceeded"
  }
}
```

## Handling 429 responses

When you receive a `429 Too Many Requests` response:

1. **Stop sending requests immediately** — do not retry in a tight loop
2. **Implement exponential backoff** — wait before retrying (e.g., 1s, 2s, 4s, 8s)
3. **Batch your requests** — combine multiple values into a single API call
4. **Consider async APIs** — for large volumes, use async masking/unmasking

## Reducing rate limit exposure

- Batch values into arrays within a single request instead of one request per value
- Use async APIs for bulk operations
- Cache masked values to avoid re-masking the same input

<Callout kind="info">
  For production rate limit details specific to your subscription tier, contact Protecto at help@protecto.ai.
</Callout>