Twitter uses Token Bucket — OTP systems use Sliding Window. Here's why. #techshorts

Twitter gets millions of requests during a viral tweet.
OTP systems get spammed by bots every second.

Same problem — unlimited requests.
But they use completely different algorithms. Why?

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🪣 TOKEN BUCKET (Twitter's approach)
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→ Every user gets a bucket of tokens
→ Each request consumes one token
→ Tokens refill at a fixed rate
→ Bucket full? Burst of requests allowed
→ Bucket empty? 429 — Too Many Requests

Why Twitter? Because viral tweets create
sudden traffic bursts. Token Bucket handles
that gracefully without blocking real users.

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🪟 SLIDING WINDOW (OTP's approach)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
→ Count every request in last N seconds
→ Window slides continuously in real time
→ Limit crossed? Hard block. No exceptions.
→ No burst allowed. Ever.

Why OTP? Because 1 extra OTP request
could mean an attacker. Zero tolerance
is the only policy that makes sense.

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⚡ THE DECISION TREE
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Need to handle burst traffic?
→ Token Bucket

Need strict hard limits?
→ Sliding Window

Both implemented in Redis.
Token Bucket → counter + timestamp
Sliding Window → sorted set

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📌 KEY TAKEAWAY
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Rate Limiting is not just an if-else check.
It is an architectural decision.

Pick the wrong algorithm →
legitimate users get blocked
or attackers get through.

Pick the right one →
your system stays alive under pressure.
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Видео Twitter uses Token Bucket — OTP systems use Sliding Window. Here's why. #techshorts канала InfraWithDipankar