[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":195},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-checklists/first-users-checklist":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":175,"date":176,"dateModified":176,"description":177,"draft":178,"extension":179,"faq":180,"featured":178,"headerVariant":181,"image":180,"keywords":180,"meta":182,"navigation":183,"ogDescription":184,"ogTitle":180,"path":185,"readTime":180,"schemaOrg":186,"schemaType":187,"seo":188,"sitemap":189,"stem":190,"tags":191,"twitterCard":193,"__hash__":194},"blog/blog/checklists/first-users-checklist.md","First Users Security Checklist: 12-Item Guide Before Your First Signup",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":169},"minimark",[9,16,19,22,47,65,80,94,105,110,113,116,138,157],[10,11,12],"tldr",{},[13,14,15],"p",{},"Your first users are your most valuable. A security incident during your early days can destroy trust before you build it. 5 critical items must be verified before inviting anyone, 5 important items should be done soon, and 2 recommended items when you can. Before inviting anyone to sign up, verify authentication works, test data isolation, set up basic monitoring, and have a plan for when things go wrong.",[13,17,18],{},"You are about to invite real people to use your thing. That is exciting, but it also means their data is now your responsibility. These 12 items are the bare minimum to make sure your first users have a safe experience and you do not start your product journey with a security incident.",[20,21],"print-button",{},[23,24,26,31,35,39,43],"checklist-section",{"title":25},"Quick Checklist (5 Critical Items)",[27,28],"checklist-item",{"description":29,"label":30},"Create a real account and verify email confirmation works","Test signup flow end-to-end",[27,32],{"description":33,"label":34},"After logout, protected pages should redirect to login","Test logout completely clears session",[27,36],{"description":37,"label":38},"As User A, try to access User B's data","Test cross-user data access",[27,40],{"description":41,"label":42},"Trigger errors and verify stack traces aren't shown","Test error pages don't leak info",[27,44],{"description":45,"label":46},"Sentry or similar to catch issues before users report them","Set up basic error monitoring",[23,48,51,54,58,62],{"title":49,"count":50},"Authentication Testing","4",[27,52],{"description":53,"label":30},"Create a real account. Verify email confirmation works if enabled. How to test authentication flows",[27,55],{"description":56,"label":57},"Verify error messages don't reveal whether email exists in system. How to secure login error messages","Test login with wrong credentials",[27,59],{"description":60,"label":61},"Request reset, verify email arrives, complete reset successfully. How to secure password reset","Test password reset flow",[27,63],{"description":64,"label":34},"After logout, verify protected pages redirect to login. How to implement secure logout",[23,66,69,73,76],{"title":67,"count":68},"Data Isolation","3",[27,70],{"description":71,"label":72},"Sign up as User A and User B with different emails. How to test data isolation","Create two test accounts",[27,74],{"description":75,"label":38},"As User A, try to access User B's data by modifying URLs or API calls. How to prevent IDOR vulnerabilities",[27,77],{"description":78,"label":79},"Ensure non-admin users cannot see other users' emails or data. How to protect user data","Verify user list is not exposed",[23,81,83,86,90],{"title":82,"count":68},"Error Handling",[27,84],{"description":85,"label":42},"Trigger errors and verify stack traces aren't shown to users. How to secure error pages",[27,87],{"description":88,"label":89},"API errors should return appropriate messages, not internal details. How to secure API error responses","Check API error responses",[27,91],{"description":92,"label":93},"Verify 404 errors don't reveal directory structure or sensitive paths. How to secure 404 pages","Test 404 pages",[23,95,98,101],{"title":96,"count":97},"Incident Preparedness","2",[27,99],{"description":100,"label":46},"Sentry, LogRocket, or similar to catch issues before users report them. How to set up error monitoring",[27,102],{"description":103,"label":104},"Know how you'll respond if something goes wrong. Who to contact, what to do. How to create an incident response plan","Document your incident response plan",[106,107,109],"h2",{"id":108},"why-first-users-matter-most","Why First Users Matter Most",[13,111,112],{},"Your first users are early adopters who took a chance on you. They're more likely to forgive bugs but less likely to forgive security issues. A data leak or account compromise in your first month can spread through the communities where early adopters gather, damaging your reputation before you've established it.",[13,114,115],{},"Additionally, early users often provide detailed feedback. If they encounter security issues, they're more likely to tell you (and others) than users who joined later and have lower expectations of communication.",[117,118,119,126,132],"faq-section",{},[120,121,123],"faq-item",{"question":122},"When should I run this checklist?",[13,124,125],{},"Run this checklist after completing your MVP security checklist, but before sharing signup links with anyone outside your team. Even \"soft launches\" to friends and family need basic security in place.",[120,127,129],{"question":128},"What if I find issues during testing?",[13,130,131],{},"Fix them before inviting users. Critical issues (data isolation failures, authentication bypasses) must be fixed. Minor issues can be documented and fixed soon after launch, but document them so you don't forget.",[120,133,135],{"question":134},"How many test accounts should I create?",[13,136,137],{},"At minimum two, to test data isolation. If you have different user roles (admin, regular user, etc.), create accounts for each role to test permission boundaries.",[139,140,141,147,152],"related-articles",{},[142,143],"related-card",{"description":144,"href":145,"title":146},"Security basics for your minimum viable product","/blog/checklists/mvp-security-checklist","MVP Security Checklist",[142,148],{"description":149,"href":150,"title":151},"Complete auth security review","/blog/checklists/authentication-security-checklist","Authentication Checklist",[142,153],{"description":154,"href":155,"title":156},"Be prepared when things go wrong","/blog/checklists/incident-response-checklist","Incident Response Checklist",[158,159,162,166],"cta-box",{"href":160,"label":161},"/","Start Free Scan",[106,163,165],{"id":164},"ready-for-real-users","Ready for Real Users?",[13,167,168],{},"Get a security report to share with early adopters or investors.",{"title":170,"searchDepth":171,"depth":171,"links":172},"",2,[173,174],{"id":108,"depth":171,"text":109},{"id":164,"depth":171,"text":165},"checklists","2026-01-29","Security checklist before accepting your first users. Essential security measures to protect your earliest adopters and your reputation.",false,"md",null,"green",{},true,"Security checklist before accepting your first users.","/blog/checklists/first-users-checklist","[object Object]","HowTo",{"title":5,"description":177},{"loc":185},"blog/checklists/first-users-checklist",[192],"Security Checklist","summary_large_image","GyZ3ZZcMazagKxpTseidrOVGhaXnEO8tFU5q8etH0lU",1775843931051]