copyright intellectual-property software terms-of-service
Making use of client side website files to figure out API endpoints being used
<p>There is a utility website witch I presumed used a backend API. There is no authentication or anything on the website, it's just for public use. Now, I want to build a mobile app that makes use of the API. So I used good old Chrome debugger to see all XHR requests and responses going in and out. I figured out and listed down the API calls. Some use an API key (clearly visible in debugger captured request headers), and some don't need the key- they work with or without it.</p>

<p>There are no terms of usage on the site, or copy-write conditions, or anything of that sort, nothing. There is obviously no publicly documented API for the API that it is using either.</p>

<p>Whats my situation here with using the API even for personal use? The mobile app is not for commercial use. It's for my own use. <strong>Is what I'm doing legal?</strong></p>

<p>To put this in answer form, yes you can make API calls to a website and it's not illegal even if they do not have a system for other developers to do so as long as you don't hack.</p>

<p>It only becomes a crime if you hack something. <a href="https://grassodefense.com/federal-hacking-laws/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://grassodefense.com/federal-hacking-laws/</a></p>
