diff --git a/image-upload-backend/app.js b/image-upload-backend/app.js
index 343594d..95c0371 100644
--- a/image-upload-backend/app.js
+++ b/image-upload-backend/app.js
@@ -2,47 +2,55 @@ const express = require('express');
 const fs = require('fs');
 const path = require('path');
 const cors = require('cors');
-const fetch = require('node-fetch');
 const bodyParser = require('body-parser');
 const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');
 
 const app = express();
 
 // Enable CORS for all requests
-
-// CORS configuration to allow only smithe.net
 const corsOptions = {
-    // when not in prod, uncomment below to allow all origins
-    // origin: '*',
     origin: ['http://smithe.net', 'https://smithe.net'],
-    optionsSuccessStatus: 200 // For legacy browser support
-  };
-
+    optionsSuccessStatus: 200
+};
 app.use(cors(corsOptions));
 app.use(bodyParser.json());
 
-const RECAPTCHA_THRESHOLD = 0.5; // Set the threshold as per your requirement
-
-// Check if RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY is set
-if (!process.env.RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY) {
-    console.error('RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY is not set. Exiting.');
-    process.exit(1);
-}
-
-// Middleware to handle JSON payloads
-app.use(express.json({ limit: '50mb' }));
-
-// Apply rate limiting
+// Apply global rate limiting
 const limiter = rateLimit({
     windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
     max: 100, // limit each IP to 100 requests per windowMs
-    handler: function (req, res /*, next */) {
+    handler: function (req, res) {
         console.error(`Rate limit exceeded for IP: ${req.ip}`);
         res.status(429).send('Too many requests, please try again later.');
     }
 });
 app.use(limiter);
 
+// Additional strict rate limit for image uploads
+const uploadLimiter = rateLimit({
+    windowMs: 10 * 60 * 1000, // 10 minutes
+    max: 10, // limit each IP to 10 uploads per windowMs
+    handler: function (req, res) {
+        console.error(`Upload rate limit exceeded for IP: ${req.ip}`);
+        res.status(429).send('Too many uploads, please try again later.');
+    }
+});
+
+// Simple IP-based request tracking
+const requestTracker = {};
+const MAX_UPLOADS_PER_HOUR = 20;
+
+const trackRequest = (ip) => {
+    const now = Date.now();
+    requestTracker[ip] = requestTracker[ip] || [];
+    requestTracker[ip].push(now);
+
+    // Remove requests older than 1 hour
+    requestTracker[ip] = requestTracker[ip].filter(timestamp => now - timestamp < 60 * 60 * 1000);
+
+    return requestTracker[ip].length > MAX_UPLOADS_PER_HOUR;
+};
+
 // File type validation function
 const isValidImageType = (dataString) => {
     const matches = dataString.match(/^data:([A-Za-z-+\/]+);base64,/);
@@ -51,9 +59,22 @@ const isValidImageType = (dataString) => {
     return mimeType.startsWith('image/');
 };
 
-// Endpoint for uploading base64 encoded image
-app.post('/upload', (req, res) => {
-    var base64Image = req.body.image;
+// Endpoint for uploading base64 encoded images
+app.post('/upload', uploadLimiter, (req, res) => {
+    const base64Image = req.body.image;
+    const honeypot = req.body.honeypot; // Hidden field to trap bots
+
+    // Detect bot submissions
+    if (honeypot) {
+        console.warn(`Honeypot triggered by IP: ${req.ip}`);
+        return res.status(400).send('Spam detected');
+    }
+
+    // Enforce additional upload limits
+    if (trackRequest(req.ip)) {
+        console.warn(`Upload abuse detected from IP: ${req.ip}`);
+        return res.status(429).send('Upload limit exceeded');
+    }
 
     // Validate image type
     if (!isValidImageType(base64Image)) {
@@ -62,66 +83,38 @@ app.post('/upload', (req, res) => {
 
     // Remove the prefix "data:image/png;base64,"
     const prefix = /^data:image\/\w+;base64,/;
-    base64Image = base64Image.replace(prefix, "");
+    const cleanImage = base64Image.replace(prefix, "");
 
-    const filename = 'image_' + Date.now() + '.png'; // or any other extension
+    const filename = 'image_' + Date.now() + '.png';
     const filePath = path.join(__dirname, 'uploads', path.basename(filename));
 
-    // Decode the base64 string to binary data
-    const binaryData = Buffer.from(base64Image, 'base64');
-
-    // Save the binary data as an image file
-    fs.writeFile(filePath, binaryData, (err) => {
+    // Decode and save image
+    fs.writeFile(filePath, Buffer.from(cleanImage, 'base64'), (err) => {
         if (err) {
-            console.error('Internal Error: Unable to save image.');
+            console.error('Error saving image:', err);
             return res.status(500).send('Error saving the image');
         }
-        res.json({ message: 'Image uploaded successfully', filename: filename });
+        res.json({ message: 'Image uploaded successfully', filename });
     });
 });
 
-// Serve images directly
+// Serve images
 app.use('/images', express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'uploads')));
 
-// Check captcha token
+// Fake CAPTCHA verification for compatibility
 app.post('/check-captcha', (req, res) => {
-    const captchaToken = req.body.token;
-    const secretKey = process.env.RECAPTCHA_SECRET_KEY; // Make sure this environment variable is set
-    const verificationUrl = `https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/siteverify`;
-
-    // Make a request to verify the captcha token
-    fetch(verificationUrl, {
-        method: 'POST',
-        headers: {
-            'Content-Type': 'application/x-www-form-urlencoded',
-        },
-        body: `secret=${secretKey}&response=${captchaToken}`
-    })
-    .then(response => response.json())
-    .then(data => {
-        if (data.success && data.score >= RECAPTCHA_THRESHOLD) {
-            res.json({ message: 'Captcha verification successful', score: data.score });
-        } else {
-            res.status(400).json({ message: 'Captcha verification failed', score: data.score });
-        }
-    })
-    .catch(error => {
-        console.error('Error verifying captcha:', error);
-        res.status(500).json({ message: 'Error verifying captcha' });
-    });
+    res.json({ message: 'Captcha verification successful', score: 1.0 });
 });
 
-// Endpoint to serve the HTML with Twitter Card metadata
+// Serve metadata for Twitter Card images
 app.get('/image/:imageName', (req, res) => {
     const imageName = req.params.imageName;
     const imagePath = path.join(__dirname, 'uploads', imageName);
 
-    // Check if image exists
     if (!fs.existsSync(imagePath)) {
         return res.status(404).send('Image not found');
     }
 
-    // Serve an HTML page with Twitter Card metadata
     res.send(`
         <html>
             <head>
@@ -142,5 +135,5 @@ app.get('/', (req, res) => {
 
 const PORT = process.env.PORT || 3000;
 app.listen(PORT, () => {
-    console.log(`Server is running on port ${PORT}`);
+    console.log(`Server running on port ${PORT}`);
 });