Security: JWT vs Sessions

How do you keep a user logged in?

Sessions (Stateful)

1. User logs in.
2. Server creates a session ID in DB/Redis.
3. Server sends ID as a HttpOnly Cookie.

Pros: Revocable (Admin can ban user instantly). Secure. Cons: Needs database lookup on every request.

JWT (Stateless)

1. User logs in.
2. Server signs a JSON token (Header + Payload + Signature).
3. Server sends token. Client stores it.

Pros: No DB lookup. Server scales infinitely. Cons: Hard to revoke (Need Blacklists). If key is stolen, attacker has access until expiry.

Conclusion

For monolithic apps (Django), stick to Sessions. They are secure and battery-included. For Microservices, JWT is the standard.