Accessing private S3 content only from my application

Question

I have an application that stores images in AWS S3. It is like a profile picture upload case. After uploading the profile picture, the image will be stored in AWS S3 and the S3 link will be stored in a database. The application will then show the profile picture using that link in the database.

Right now, as the bucket is private the profile picture is not visible in my application. How can I use this link to show the image without making the bucket public?

I don't think, I can use AWS's signed URL because this link can't be time-limited. The link need to be available all the time for showing the image on the application.

Is there any method to do so? Or is there any other industry-standard method for making this feature possible?

signed URL is the best option for user data, otherwise you have to make your object public — Adiii, Sep 26 '19 at 06:03
Does the signed URL will always expire? Can we create a signed URL without expiry? — Neron Joseph, Sep 26 '19 at 06:25
yes,The maximum expiration time for presigned url is one week from time of creation. — Adiii, Sep 26 '19 at 06:35

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 26 '19 at 06:48

Regarding images, best way is the serve them via CDN (you can link it with S3). Their long, scaffolded URL should be enough (and make a dedicated S3 bucket, public). Check a photo from a friend's Facebook account, it will should even if not logged in. How to setup CDN https://learnetto.com/blog/cloudfront-s3

If you are really concerned about security, you can fetch the images in Base64 (https://stackoverflow.com/a/2429959/290036). Make your bucket private and allow access only to your internal services. That way you have better control, but lose all the benefits of a CDN.

Accessing private S3 content only from my application

1 Answers1

Linked