Understanding the Difference Between Access Tokens and Refresh Tokens

AccessToken:

• Purpose: Grants access to protected resources.

• Lifespan: Short-lived, typically lasting from a few minutes to an hour.

• Usage: Sent with each request to access a protected resource.

• Security: Can be revoked at any time and is designed to minimize the risk if compromised due to its short lifespan.

RefreshToken :

• Purpose: Used to obtain a new access token when the current one expires.

• Lifespan: Long-lived, often lasting days or months.

• Usage: Not sent with each request; instead, it is used to request a new access token from the authentication server.

• Security: Stored securely and can be revoked by the authentication server. It is not used directly to access resources, reducing the risk if compromised.