diff --git a/.vscode/settings.json b/.vscode/settings.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ba2a6c01
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.vscode/settings.json
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+    "python-envs.defaultEnvManager": "ms-python.python:system",
+    "python-envs.pythonProjects": []
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backend/__init__.py b/backend/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e69de29b
diff --git a/backend/app/.gitignore b/backend/app/.gitignore
index e69de29b..c6f7e31d 100644
--- a/backend/app/.gitignore
+++ b/backend/app/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+.env
+# See https://help.github.com/articles/ignoring-files/ for more about ignoring files.
+
+# dependencies
+/node_modules
+
+# next.js
+/.next/
+/out/
+
+# production
+/build
+
+# debug
+npm-debug.log*
+yarn-debug.log*
+yarn-error.log*
+.pnpm-debug.log*
+
+# env files
+.env*
+
+# vercel
+.vercel
+
+# typescript
+*.tsbuildinfo
+next-env.d.ts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/backend/app/db/mongo.py b/backend/app/db/mongo.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..75159b06
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/db/mongo.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+import os
+from typing import Optional
+
+from motor.motor_asyncio import AsyncIOMotorClient, AsyncIOMotorDatabase
+
+
+_client: Optional[AsyncIOMotorClient] = None
+_db: Optional[AsyncIOMotorDatabase] = None
+
+
+def get_mongo_uri() -> str:
+    # Expect a MongoDB connection string in environment (Atlas URI)
+    return os.getenv("MONGODB_URI", "mongodb://localhost:27017")
+
+
+def init_mongo(app=None) -> None:
+    global _client, _db
+    if _client is None:
+        uri = get_mongo_uri()
+        _client = AsyncIOMotorClient(uri)
+        # default database name
+        db_name = os.getenv("MONGODB_DB", "perspective")
+        _db = _client[db_name]
+
+
+def close_mongo() -> None:
+    global _client, _db
+    if _client is not None:
+        _client.close()
+    # Reset globals so future calls re-init a fresh client instead of returning closed handle
+    _client = None
+    _db = None
+
+
+def get_db() -> AsyncIOMotorDatabase:
+    if _db is None:
+        init_mongo()
+    return _db
diff --git a/backend/app/db/user_store.py b/backend/app/db/user_store.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3e79ff27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/db/user_store.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+from typing import Optional
+from datetime import datetime
+
+from app.models.user import User
+from app.db.mongo import get_db
+
+
+async def get_user_by_email(email: str) -> Optional[User]:
+    db = get_db()
+    doc = await db.users.find_one({"email": email})
+    if not doc:
+        return None
+    # convert Mongo's _id and possible datetime
+    if "_id" in doc:
+        doc["id"] = str(doc.pop("_id"))
+    return User(**doc)
+
+
+async def create_user(user: User) -> User:
+    db = get_db()
+    existing = await db.users.find_one({"email": user.email})
+    if existing:
+        raise ValueError("User with this email already exists")
+    payload = user.model_dump()
+    # store created_at as datetime
+    if isinstance(payload.get("created_at"), str):
+        try:
+            payload["created_at"] = datetime.fromisoformat(payload["created_at"])
+        except Exception:
+            payload["created_at"] = datetime.utcnow()
+    result = await db.users.insert_one(payload)
+    payload["id"] = str(result.inserted_id)
+    return User(**payload)
diff --git a/backend/app/models/__init__.py b/backend/app/models/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..03f94c6b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/models/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+"""User models for authentication."""
diff --git a/backend/app/models/user.py b/backend/app/models/user.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8bdc0aec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/models/user.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+from pydantic import BaseModel, EmailStr, Field
+from typing import Optional
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
+from uuid import uuid4
+
+
+class UserCreate(BaseModel):
+    name: str
+    email: EmailStr
+    password: str
+
+
+class User(BaseModel):
+    id: str = Field(default_factory=lambda: str(uuid4()))
+    name: str
+    email: EmailStr
+    hashed_password: str
+    created_at: datetime = Field(default_factory=lambda: datetime.now(timezone.utc))
+
+
+class UserPublic(BaseModel):
+    id: str
+    name: str
+    email: EmailStr
+    created_at: datetime
diff --git a/backend/app/modules/vector_store/embed.py b/backend/app/modules/vector_store/embed.py
index 3ab68f07..30c4a502 100644
--- a/backend/app/modules/vector_store/embed.py
+++ b/backend/app/modules/vector_store/embed.py
@@ -22,10 +22,59 @@
 """
 
 
-from sentence_transformers import SentenceTransformer
 from typing import List, Dict, Any
+import os
+import logging
 
-embedder = SentenceTransformer("all-MiniLM-L6-v2")
+
+_embedder = None
+_model_name = os.getenv("EMBED_MODEL_NAME", "all-MiniLM-L6-v2")
+
+
+def _get_embedder():
+    """Lazily load the SentenceTransformer embedder. If loading fails (network/DNS),
+    return a deterministic fallback embedder that produces fixed-size vectors.
+    """
+    global _embedder
+    if _embedder is not None:
+        return _embedder
+
+    try:
+        from sentence_transformers import SentenceTransformer
+
+        _embedder = SentenceTransformer(_model_name)
+        return _embedder
+    except Exception as exc:  # pragma: no cover - defensive fallback
+        logging.warning(
+            "Failed to load SentenceTransformer '%s' (%s). Falling back to deterministic embedder.",
+            _model_name,
+            exc,
+        )
+
+        class _FallbackEmbedder:
+            def __init__(self, dim: int = 384):
+                self.dim = dim
+
+            def encode(self, texts: List[str]):
+                # deterministic hash-based vectors (not semantically meaningful)
+                import hashlib
+
+                out = []
+                for t in texts:
+                    h = hashlib.sha256(t.encode("utf-8")).digest()
+                    # expand/repeat to required dim and convert to floats in [-1,1]
+                    vals = []
+                    i = 0
+                    while len(vals) < self.dim:
+                        b = h[i % len(h)]
+                        # map byte to [-1,1]
+                        vals.append((b / 127.5) - 1.0)
+                        i += 1
+                    out.append(vals[: self.dim])
+                return out
+
+        _embedder = _FallbackEmbedder()
+        return _embedder
 
 
 def embed_chunks(chunks: List[Dict[str, Any]]) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
@@ -40,7 +89,14 @@ def embed_chunks(chunks: List[Dict[str, Any]]) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
             )
 
     texts = [chunk["text"] for chunk in chunks]
-    embeddings = embedder.encode(texts).tolist()
+    embedder = _get_embedder()
+    embeddings = embedder.encode(texts)
+    # some embedders return numpy arrays
+    try:
+        embeddings = embeddings.tolist()
+    except Exception:
+        # assume it's already a list of lists
+        pass
 
     vectors = []
     for chunk, embedding in zip(chunks, embeddings):
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/auth.py b/backend/app/routes/auth.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ca86030f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/routes/auth.py
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+from fastapi import APIRouter, HTTPException, status
+from pydantic import BaseModel, EmailStr
+from app.models.user import User, UserCreate, UserPublic
+from app.db.user_store import get_user_by_email, create_user
+from app.utils.auth import hash_password, verify_password, create_access_token
+
+
+router = APIRouter()
+
+
+class SignupRequest(UserCreate):
+    pass
+
+
+class LoginRequest(BaseModel):
+    email: EmailStr
+    password: str
+
+
+def _validate_password_strength(password: str):
+    if len(password) < 8:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST, detail="Password must be at least 8 characters long")
+
+
+@router.post("/signup")
+async def signup(body: SignupRequest):
+    _validate_password_strength(body.password)
+    existing = await get_user_by_email(body.email)
+    if existing:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_400_BAD_REQUEST, detail="Email already registered")
+    user = User(name=body.name, email=body.email, hashed_password=hash_password(body.password))
+    user = await create_user(user)
+    token = create_access_token(user.email)
+    return {
+        "access_token": token,
+        "token_type": "bearer",
+        "user": UserPublic(**user.model_dump()).model_dump(),
+    }
+
+
+@router.post("/login")
+async def login(body: LoginRequest):
+    # Timing attack mitigation:
+    # Always perform a password verification step even if user does not exist.
+    user = await get_user_by_email(body.email)
+    # Pre-generated dummy hash (bcrypt_sha256 of a constant) ensures constant-time path.
+    # We generate it lazily to avoid import-time work.
+    from app.utils.auth import hash_password as _hp, verify_password as _vp  # local import to avoid circularity
+    dummy_hash = _hp("__dummy_constant_password__")
+    hashed = user.hashed_password if user else dummy_hash
+    password_ok = _vp(body.password, hashed)
+    if not user or not password_ok:
+        # Return generic error regardless of which check failed
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid email or password")
+    token = create_access_token(user.email)
+    return {
+        "access_token": token,
+        "token_type": "bearer",
+        "user": UserPublic(**user.model_dump()).model_dump(),
+    }
diff --git a/backend/app/routes/routes.py b/backend/app/routes/routes.py
index 6988f5e8..cfaf8f0c 100644
--- a/backend/app/routes/routes.py
+++ b/backend/app/routes/routes.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@
 """
 
 
-from fastapi import APIRouter
+from fastapi import APIRouter, Depends
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 from app.modules.pipeline import run_scraper_pipeline
 from app.modules.pipeline import run_langgraph_workflow
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
 from app.modules.chat.get_rag_data import search_pinecone
 from app.modules.chat.llm_processing import ask_llm
 from app.logging.logging_config import setup_logger
+from app.utils.auth import get_current_user
 import asyncio
 import json
 
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ async def home():
 
 
 @router.post("/bias")
-async def bias_detection(request: URlRequest):
+async def bias_detection(request: URlRequest, user=Depends(get_current_user)):
     content = await asyncio.to_thread(run_scraper_pipeline, (request.url))
     bias_score = await asyncio.to_thread(check_bias, (content))
     logger.info(f"Bias detection result: {bias_score}")
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ async def bias_detection(request: URlRequest):
 
 
 @router.post("/process")
-async def run_pipelines(request: URlRequest):
+async def run_pipelines(request: URlRequest, user=Depends(get_current_user)):
     article_text = await asyncio.to_thread(run_scraper_pipeline, (request.url))
     logger.debug(f"Scraper output: {json.dumps(article_text, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)}")
     data = await asyncio.to_thread(run_langgraph_workflow, (article_text))
@@ -76,7 +77,7 @@ async def run_pipelines(request: URlRequest):
 
 
 @router.post("/chat")
-async def answer_query(request: ChatQuery):
+async def answer_query(request: ChatQuery, user=Depends(get_current_user)):
     query = request.message
     results = search_pinecone(query)
     answer = ask_llm(query, results)
diff --git a/backend/app/utils/auth.py b/backend/app/utils/auth.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a9ce3d50
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/utils/auth.py
@@ -0,0 +1,56 @@
+import os
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone
+from typing import Optional
+
+import jwt
+from fastapi import Depends, HTTPException, status
+from fastapi.security import HTTPAuthorizationCredentials, HTTPBearer
+from passlib.context import CryptContext
+
+JWT_SECRET = os.getenv("JWT_SECRET", "change-me")
+ALGORITHM = "HS256"
+ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES = int(os.getenv("ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES", "120"))
+
+pwd_context = CryptContext(schemes=["bcrypt_sha256"], deprecated="auto")
+bearer_scheme = HTTPBearer(auto_error=True)
+
+
+def hash_password(password: str) -> str:
+    # passlib's bcrypt_sha256 handles long passwords safely.
+    return pwd_context.hash(password)
+
+
+def verify_password(password: str, hashed: str) -> bool:
+    return pwd_context.verify(password, hashed)
+
+
+def create_access_token(subject: str) -> str:
+    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
+    payload = {
+        "sub": subject,
+        "iat": int(now.timestamp()),
+        "exp": int((now + timedelta(minutes=ACCESS_TOKEN_EXPIRE_MINUTES)).timestamp()),
+    }
+    return jwt.encode(payload, JWT_SECRET, algorithm=ALGORITHM)
+
+
+def decode_token(token: str) -> dict:
+    try:
+        return jwt.decode(token, JWT_SECRET, algorithms=[ALGORITHM])
+    except jwt.ExpiredSignatureError:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Token expired")
+    except jwt.PyJWTError:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid token")
+
+
+async def get_current_user(credentials: HTTPAuthorizationCredentials = Depends(bearer_scheme)) -> dict:
+    token = credentials.credentials
+    payload = decode_token(token)
+    from app.db.user_store import get_user_by_email  # local import to avoid circulars
+    email = payload.get("sub")
+    if not email:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="Invalid token payload")
+    user = await get_user_by_email(email)
+    if not user:
+        raise HTTPException(status_code=status.HTTP_401_UNAUTHORIZED, detail="User no longer exists")
+    return {"email": email}
diff --git a/backend/main.py b/backend/main.py
index 6f4c4552..dfc12d50 100644
--- a/backend/main.py
+++ b/backend/main.py
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 from app.routes.routes import router as article_router
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from app.logging.logging_config import setup_logger
+from app.routes.auth import router as auth_router
+from app.db.mongo import init_mongo, close_mongo
     
 # Setup logger for this module
 logger = setup_logger(__name__)
@@ -42,6 +44,18 @@
 )
 
 app.include_router(article_router, prefix="/api", tags=["Articles"])
+app.include_router(auth_router, prefix="/api/auth", tags=["Auth"])
+
+
+@app.on_event("startup")
+async def on_startup():
+    # initialize MongoDB client
+    init_mongo(app)
+
+
+@app.on_event("shutdown")
+async def on_shutdown():
+    close_mongo()
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     import uvicorn
diff --git a/backend/package-lock.json b/backend/package-lock.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dfb18f11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/package-lock.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "backend",
+  "lockfileVersion": 3,
+  "requires": true,
+  "packages": {}
+}
diff --git a/backend/pyproject.toml b/backend/pyproject.toml
index 70037f72..009d041d 100644
--- a/backend/pyproject.toml
+++ b/backend/pyproject.toml
@@ -25,4 +25,9 @@ dependencies = [
     "sentence-transformers>=5.0.0",
     "trafilatura>=2.0.0",
     "uvicorn>=0.34.3",
+    "pyjwt>=2.9.0",
+    "passlib[bcrypt]>=1.7.4",
+    "bcrypt<4.0.0",
+    "pydantic[email]>=2.11.5",
+    "motor>=3.5.1",
 ]
diff --git a/backend/uv.lock b/backend/uv.lock
index fc1e19b5..2056b6d4 100644
--- a/backend/uv.lock
+++ b/backend/uv.lock
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 version = 1
-revision = 2
+revision = 3
 requires-python = ">=3.13"
 
 [[package]]
@@ -102,6 +102,7 @@ name = "backend"
 version = "0.1.0"
 source = { virtual = "." }
 dependencies = [
+    { name = "bcrypt" },
     { name = "bs4" },
     { name = "dotenv" },
     { name = "duckduckgo-search" },
@@ -113,9 +114,13 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "langchain-groq" },
     { name = "langgraph" },
     { name = "logging" },
+    { name = "motor" },
     { name = "newspaper3k" },
     { name = "nltk" },
+    { name = "passlib", extra = ["bcrypt"] },
     { name = "pinecone" },
+    { name = "pydantic", extra = ["email"] },
+    { name = "pyjwt" },
     { name = "rake-nltk" },
     { name = "readability-lxml" },
     { name = "requests" },
@@ -126,6 +131,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [package.metadata]
 requires-dist = [
+    { name = "bcrypt", specifier = "<4.0.0" },
     { name = "bs4", specifier = ">=0.0.2" },
     { name = "dotenv", specifier = ">=0.9.9" },
     { name = "duckduckgo-search", specifier = ">=8.0.4" },
@@ -137,9 +143,13 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "langchain-groq", specifier = ">=0.3.2" },
     { name = "langgraph", specifier = ">=0.4.8" },
     { name = "logging", specifier = ">=0.4.9.6" },
+    { name = "motor", specifier = ">=3.5.1" },
     { name = "newspaper3k", specifier = ">=0.2.8" },
     { name = "nltk", specifier = ">=3.9.1" },
+    { name = "passlib", extras = ["bcrypt"], specifier = ">=1.7.4" },
     { name = "pinecone", specifier = ">=7.3.0" },
+    { name = "pydantic", extras = ["email"], specifier = ">=2.11.5" },
+    { name = "pyjwt", specifier = ">=2.9.0" },
     { name = "rake-nltk", specifier = ">=1.0.6" },
     { name = "readability-lxml", specifier = ">=0.8.4.1" },
     { name = "requests", specifier = ">=2.32.3" },
@@ -148,6 +158,27 @@ requires-dist = [
     { name = "uvicorn", specifier = ">=0.34.3" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "bcrypt"
+version = "3.2.2"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+dependencies = [
+    { name = "cffi" },
+]
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/e8/36/edc85ab295ceff724506252b774155eff8a238f13730c8b13badd33ef866/bcrypt-3.2.2.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:433c410c2177057705da2a9f2cd01dd157493b2a7ac14c8593a16b3dab6b6bfb", size = 42455, upload-time = "2022-05-01T17:58:52.348Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/a0/c2/05354b1d4351d2e686a32296cc9dd1e63f9909a580636df0f7b06d774600/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-macosx_10_10_universal2.whl", hash = "sha256:7180d98a96f00b1050e93f5b0f556e658605dd9f524d0b0e68ae7944673f525e", size = 50049, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:05:47.625Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/8c/b3/1257f7d64ee0aa0eb4fb1de5da8c2647a57db7b737da1f2342ac1889d3b8/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_24_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:61bae49580dce88095d669226d5076d0b9d927754cedbdf76c6c9f5099ad6f26", size = 54914, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:03:00.752Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/61/3d/dce83194830183aa700cab07c89822471d21663a86a0b305d1e5c7b02810/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:88273d806ab3a50d06bc6a2fc7c87d737dd669b76ad955f449c43095389bc8fb", size = 54403, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:03:02.483Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/86/1b/f4d7425dfc6cd0e405b48ee484df6d80fb39e05f25963dbfcc2c511e8341/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_24_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:6d2cb9d969bfca5bc08e45864137276e4c3d3d7de2b162171def3d188bf9d34a", size = 62337, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:05:49.524Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/3e/df/289db4f31b303de6addb0897c8b5c01b23bd4b8c511ac80a32b08658847c/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux2014_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:2b02d6bfc6336d1094276f3f588aa1225a598e27f8e3388f4db9948cb707b521", size = 61026, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:05:51.107Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/40/8f/b67b42faa2e4d944b145b1a402fc08db0af8fe2dfa92418c674b5a302496/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-manylinux_2_5_x86_64.manylinux1_x86_64.manylinux_2_12_x86_64.manylinux2010_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:a2c46100e315c3a5b90fdc53e429c006c5f962529bc27e1dfd656292c20ccc40", size = 64672, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:05:52.748Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/fc/9a/e1867f0b27a3f4ce90e21dd7f322f0e15d4aac2434d3b938dcf765e47c6b/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-musllinux_1_1_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:7d9ba2e41e330d2af4af6b1b6ec9e6128e91343d0b4afb9282e54e5508f31baa", size = 56795, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:03:04.028Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/18/76/057b0637c880e6cb0abdc8a867d080376ddca6ed7d05b7738f589cc5c1a8/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-musllinux_1_1_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:cd43303d6b8a165c29ec6756afd169faba9396a9472cdff753fe9f19b96ce2fa", size = 62075, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:05:54.412Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/f1/64/cd93e2c3e28a5fa8bcf6753d5cc5e858e4da08bf51404a0adb6a412532de/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:4e029cef560967fb0cf4a802bcf4d562d3d6b4b1bf81de5ec1abbe0f1adb027e", size = 27916, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:05:56.45Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/f5/37/7cd297ff571c4d86371ff024c0e008b37b59e895b28f69444a9b6f94ca1a/bcrypt-3.2.2-cp36-abi3-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:7ff2069240c6bbe49109fe84ca80508773a904f5a8cb960e02a977f7f519b129", size = 29581, upload-time = "2022-05-01T18:05:57.878Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "beautifulsoup4"
 version = "4.13.4"
@@ -316,6 +347,15 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/12/b3/231ffd4ab1fc9d679809f356cebee130ac7daa00d6d6f3206dd4fd137e9e/distro-1.9.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:7bffd925d65168f85027d8da9af6bddab658135b840670a223589bc0c8ef02b2", size = 20277, upload-time = "2023-12-24T09:54:30.421Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "dnspython"
+version = "2.8.0"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/8c/8b/57666417c0f90f08bcafa776861060426765fdb422eb10212086fb811d26/dnspython-2.8.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:181d3c6996452cb1189c4046c61599b84a5a86e099562ffde77d26984ff26d0f", size = 368251, upload-time = "2025-09-07T18:58:00.022Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ba/5a/18ad964b0086c6e62e2e7500f7edc89e3faa45033c71c1893d34eed2b2de/dnspython-2.8.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:01d9bbc4a2d76bf0db7c1f729812ded6d912bd318d3b1cf81d30c0f845dbf3af", size = 331094, upload-time = "2025-09-07T18:57:58.071Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "dotenv"
 version = "0.9.9"
@@ -341,6 +381,19 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/14/f0/1332de2dc7e7cbcabcf3993b3383dbce6b43d91cb3759fb53916be02845d/duckduckgo_search-8.0.4-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:22490e83c0ca885998d6623d8274f24934faffc43dac3c3482fe24ea4f6799bb", size = 18219, upload-time = "2025-06-13T05:04:29.052Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "email-validator"
+version = "2.3.0"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+dependencies = [
+    { name = "dnspython" },
+    { name = "idna" },
+]
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/f5/22/900cb125c76b7aaa450ce02fd727f452243f2e91a61af068b40adba60ea9/email_validator-2.3.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:9fc05c37f2f6cf439ff414f8fc46d917929974a82244c20eb10231ba60c54426", size = 51238, upload-time = "2025-08-26T13:09:06.831Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/de/15/545e2b6cf2e3be84bc1ed85613edd75b8aea69807a71c26f4ca6a9258e82/email_validator-2.3.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:80f13f623413e6b197ae73bb10bf4eb0908faf509ad8362c5edeb0be7fd450b4", size = 35604, upload-time = "2025-08-26T13:09:05.858Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "fastapi"
 version = "0.115.12"
@@ -760,7 +813,7 @@ name = "langgraph-checkpoint"
 version = "2.0.26"
 source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
 dependencies = [
-    { name = "langchain-core", marker = "python_full_version < '4.0'" },
+    { name = "langchain-core", marker = "python_full_version < '4'" },
     { name = "ormsgpack" },
 ]
 sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/c5/61/e2518ac9216a4e9f4efda3ac61595e3c9e9ac00833141c9688e8d56bd7eb/langgraph_checkpoint-2.0.26.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:2b800195532d5efb079db9754f037281225ae175f7a395523f4bf41223cbc9d6", size = 37874, upload-time = "2025-05-15T17:31:22.466Z" }
@@ -900,6 +953,18 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/34/75/51952c7b2d3873b44a0028b1bd26a25078c18f92f256608e8d1dc61b39fd/marshmallow-3.26.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:3350409f20a70a7e4e11a27661187b77cdcaeb20abca41c1454fe33636bea09c", size = 50878, upload-time = "2025-02-03T15:32:22.295Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "motor"
+version = "3.7.1"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+dependencies = [
+    { name = "pymongo" },
+]
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/93/ae/96b88362d6a84cb372f7977750ac2a8aed7b2053eed260615df08d5c84f4/motor-3.7.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:27b4d46625c87928f331a6ca9d7c51c2f518ba0e270939d395bc1ddc89d64526", size = 280997, upload-time = "2025-05-14T18:56:33.653Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/01/9a/35e053d4f442addf751ed20e0e922476508ee580786546d699b0567c4c67/motor-3.7.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:8a63b9049e38eeeb56b4fdd57c3312a6d1f25d01db717fe7d82222393c410298", size = 74996, upload-time = "2025-05-14T18:56:31.665Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "mpmath"
 version = "1.3.0"
@@ -1222,6 +1287,20 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/88/ef/eb23f262cca3c0c4eb7ab1933c3b1f03d021f2c48f54763065b6f0e321be/packaging-24.2-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:09abb1bccd265c01f4a3aa3f7a7db064b36514d2cba19a2f694fe6150451a759", size = 65451, upload-time = "2024-11-08T09:47:44.722Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "passlib"
+version = "1.7.4"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/b6/06/9da9ee59a67fae7761aab3ccc84fa4f3f33f125b370f1ccdb915bf967c11/passlib-1.7.4.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:defd50f72b65c5402ab2c573830a6978e5f202ad0d984793c8dde2c4152ebe04", size = 689844, upload-time = "2020-10-08T19:00:52.121Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/3b/a4/ab6b7589382ca3df236e03faa71deac88cae040af60c071a78d254a62172/passlib-1.7.4-py2.py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:aa6bca462b8d8bda89c70b382f0c298a20b5560af6cbfa2dce410c0a2fb669f1", size = 525554, upload-time = "2020-10-08T19:00:49.856Z" },
+]
+
+[package.optional-dependencies]
+bcrypt = [
+    { name = "bcrypt" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "pillow"
 version = "11.2.1"
@@ -1262,7 +1341,7 @@ dependencies = [
     { name = "pinecone-plugin-interface" },
     { name = "python-dateutil" },
     { name = "typing-extensions" },
-    { name = "urllib3", marker = "python_full_version < '4.0'" },
+    { name = "urllib3", marker = "python_full_version < '4'" },
 ]
 sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/fa/38/12731d4af470851b4963eba616605868a8599ef4df51c7b6c928e5f3166d/pinecone-7.3.0.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:307edc155621d487c20dc71b76c3ad5d6f799569ba42064190d03917954f9a7b", size = 235256, upload-time = "2025-06-27T20:03:51.498Z" }
 wheels = [
@@ -1372,6 +1451,11 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/b5/69/831ed22b38ff9b4b64b66569f0e5b7b97cf3638346eb95a2147fdb49ad5f/pydantic-2.11.5-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:f9c26ba06f9747749ca1e5c94d6a85cb84254577553c8785576fd38fa64dc0f7", size = 444229, upload-time = "2025-05-22T21:18:06.329Z" },
 ]
 
+[package.optional-dependencies]
+email = [
+    { name = "email-validator" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "pydantic-core"
 version = "2.33.2"
@@ -1414,6 +1498,56 @@ wheels = [
     { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/7d/9e/fce9331fecf1d2761ff0516c5dceab8a5fd415e82943e727dc4c5fa84a90/pydantic_settings-2.10.0-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:33781dfa1c7405d5ed2b6f150830a93bb58462a847357bd8f162f8bacb77c027", size = 45232, upload-time = "2025-06-21T13:56:53.682Z" },
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "pyjwt"
+version = "2.10.1"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/e7/46/bd74733ff231675599650d3e47f361794b22ef3e3770998dda30d3b63726/pyjwt-2.10.1.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:3cc5772eb20009233caf06e9d8a0577824723b44e6648ee0a2aedb6cf9381953", size = 87785, upload-time = "2024-11-28T03:43:29.933Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/61/ad/689f02752eeec26aed679477e80e632ef1b682313be70793d798c1d5fc8f/PyJWT-2.10.1-py3-none-any.whl", hash = "sha256:dcdd193e30abefd5debf142f9adfcdd2b58004e644f25406ffaebd50bd98dacb", size = 22997, upload-time = "2024-11-28T03:43:27.893Z" },
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "pymongo"
+version = "4.15.3"
+source = { registry = "https://pypi.org/simple" }
+dependencies = [
+    { name = "dnspython" },
+]
+sdist = { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/9d/7b/a709c85dc716eb85b69f71a4bb375cf1e72758a7e872103f27551243319c/pymongo-4.15.3.tar.gz", hash = "sha256:7a981271347623b5319932796690c2d301668ac3a1965974ac9f5c3b8a22cea5", size = 2470801, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:50.384Z" }
+wheels = [
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/46/a4/e1ce9d408a1c1bcb1554ff61251b108e16cefd7db91b33faa2afc92294de/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-macosx_10_13_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:a47a3218f7900f65bf0f36fcd1f2485af4945757360e7e143525db9d715d2010", size = 975329, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:44.674Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/74/3c/6796f653d22be43cc0b13c07dbed84133eebbc334ebed4426459b7250163/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:09440e78dff397b2f34a624f445ac8eb44c9756a2688b85b3bf344d351d198e1", size = 975129, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:46.104Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/88/33/22453dbfe11031e89c9cbdfde6405c03960daaf5da1b4dfdd458891846b5/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_28_i686.manylinux_2_5_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:97f9babdb98c31676f97d468f7fe2dc49b8a66fb6900effddc4904c1450196c8", size = 1950979, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:47.877Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ba/07/094598e403112e2410a3376fb7845c69e2ec2dfc5ab5cc00b29dc2d26559/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:71413cd8f091ae25b1fec3af7c2e531cf9bdb88ce4079470e64835f6a664282a", size = 1995271, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:49.396Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/47/9a/29e44f3dee68defc56e50ed7c9d3802ebf967ab81fefb175d8d729c0f276/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-manylinux2014_ppc64le.manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux_2_28_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:76a8d4de8dceb69f6e06736198ff6f7e1149515ef946f192ff2594d2cc98fc53", size = 2086587, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:50.896Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ff/d5/e9ff16aa57f671349134475b904fd431e7b86e152b01a949aef4f254b2d5/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-manylinux2014_s390x.manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux_2_28_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:77353978be9fc9e5fe56369682efed0aac5f92a2a1570704d62b62a3c9e1a24f", size = 2070201, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:52.425Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/d6/a3/820772c0b2bbb671f253cfb0bede4cf694a38fb38134f3993d491e23ec11/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:9897a837677e3814873d0572f7e5d53c23ce18e274f3b5b87f05fb6eea22615b", size = 1985260, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:54.56Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/6e/7b/365ac821aefad7e8d36a4bc472a94429449aade1ccb7805d9ca754df5081/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:d66da207ccb0d68c5792eaaac984a0d9c6c8ec609c6bcfa11193a35200dc5992", size = 938122, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:55.993Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/80/f3/5ca27e1765fa698c677771a1c0e042ef193e207c15f5d32a21fa5b13d8c3/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:52f40c4b8c00bc53d4e357fe0de13d031c4cddb5d201e1a027db437e8d2887f8", size = 962610, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:57.397Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/48/7c/42f0b6997324023e94939f8f32b9a8dd928499f4b5d7b4412905368686b5/pymongo-4.15.3-cp313-cp313-win_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:fb384623ece34db78d445dd578a52d28b74e8319f4d9535fbaff79d0eae82b3d", size = 944300, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:56:58.969Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/e7/a3/d8aaf9c243ce1319bd2498004a9acccfcfb35a3ef9851abb856993d95255/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-macosx_10_13_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:dcff15b9157c16bc796765d4d3d151df669322acfb0357e4c3ccd056153f0ff4", size = 1029873, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:00.759Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/64/10/91fd7791425ed3b56cbece6c23a36fb2696706a695655d8ea829e5e23c3a/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:1f681722c9f27e86c49c2e8a838e61b6ecf2285945fd1798bd01458134257834", size = 1029611, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:02.488Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/bb/9c/d9cf8d8a181f96877bca7bdec3e6ce135879d5e3d78694ea465833c53a3f/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_28_i686.manylinux_2_5_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:2c96dde79bdccd167b930a709875b0cd4321ac32641a490aebfa10bdcd0aa99b", size = 2211827, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:03.907Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/c2/40/12703964305216c155284100124222eaa955300a07d426c6e0ba3c9cbade/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:d2d4ca446348d850ac4a5c3dc603485640ae2e7805dbb90765c3ba7d79129b37", size = 2264654, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:05.41Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/0f/70/bf3c18b5d0cae0b9714158b210b07b5891a875eb1c503271cfe045942fd3/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-manylinux2014_ppc64le.manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux_2_28_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:7c0fd3de3a12ff0a8113a3f64cedb01f87397ab8eaaffa88d7f18ca66cd39385", size = 2371830, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:06.9Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/21/6d/2dfaed2ae66304ab842d56ed9a1bd2706ca0ecf97975b328a5eeceb2a4c0/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-manylinux2014_s390x.manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux_2_28_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:e84dec392cf5f72d365e0aac73f627b0a3170193ebb038c3f7e7df11b7983ee7", size = 2351878, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:08.92Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/17/ed/fe46ff9adfa6dc11ad2e0694503adfc98f40583cfcc6db4dbaf582f0e357/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:8d4b01a48369ea6d5bc83fea535f56279f806aa3e4991189f0477696dd736289", size = 2251356, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:10.51Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/12/c4/2e1a10b1e9bca9c106f2dc1b89d4ad70c63d387c194b3a1bfcca552b5a3f/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:3561fa96c3123275ec5ccf919e595547e100c412ec0894e954aa0da93ecfdb9e", size = 992878, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:12.119Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/98/b5/14aa417a44ea86d4c31de83b26f6e6793f736cd60e7e7fda289ce5184bdf/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:9df2db6bd91b07400879b6ec89827004c0c2b55fc606bb62db93cafb7677c340", size = 1021209, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:13.686Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/94/9f/1097c6824fa50a4ffb11ba5194d2a9ef68d5509dd342e32ddb697d2efe4e/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314-win_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:ff99864085d2c7f4bb672c7167680ceb7d273e9a93c1a8074c986a36dbb71cc6", size = 1000618, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:15.212Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/ad/31/37c76607a4f793f4491611741fa7a7c4238b956f48c4a9505cea0b5cf7ef/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-macosx_10_13_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:ffe217d2502f3fba4e2b0dc015ce3b34f157b66dfe96835aa64432e909dd0d95", size = 1086576, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:16.742Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/92/b2/6d17d279cdd293eeeb0c9d5baeb4f8cdebb45354fd81cfcef2d1c69303ab/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:390c4954c774eda280898e73aea36482bf20cba3ecb958dbb86d6a68b9ecdd68", size = 1086656, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:18.774Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/55/fd/c5da8619beca207d7e6231f24ed269cb537c5311dad59fd9f2ef7d43204a/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-manylinux1_i686.manylinux_2_28_i686.manylinux_2_5_i686.whl", hash = "sha256:7dd2a49f088890ca08930bbf96121443b48e26b02b84ba0a3e1ae2bf2c5a9b48", size = 2531646, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:20.63Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/93/8f/66a7e12b874f41eb205f352b3a719e5a964b5ba103996f6ac45e80560111/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-manylinux2014_aarch64.manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux_2_28_aarch64.whl", hash = "sha256:5f6feb678f26171f2a6b2cbb340949889154c7067972bd4cc129b62161474f08", size = 2603799, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:22.591Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/10/98/baf0d1f8016087500899cc4ae14e591f29b016c643e99ab332fcafe6f7bc/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-manylinux2014_ppc64le.manylinux_2_17_ppc64le.manylinux_2_28_ppc64le.whl", hash = "sha256:446417a34ff6c2411ce3809e17ce9a67269c9f1cb4966b01e49e0c590cc3c6b3", size = 2725238, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:24.091Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/c9/a2/112d8d3882d6e842f501e166fbe08dfc2bc9a35f8773cbcaa804f7991043/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-manylinux2014_s390x.manylinux_2_17_s390x.manylinux_2_28_s390x.whl", hash = "sha256:cfa4a0a0f024a0336640e1201994e780a17bda5e6a7c0b4d23841eb9152e868b", size = 2704837, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:25.626Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/38/fe/043a9aac7b3fba5b8e216f48359bd18fdbe46a4d93b081786f773b25e997/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-manylinux2014_x86_64.manylinux_2_17_x86_64.manylinux_2_28_x86_64.whl", hash = "sha256:9b03db2fe37c950aff94b29ded5c349b23729bccd90a0a5907bbf807d8c77298", size = 2582294, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:27.221Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/5b/fe/7a6a6b331d9f2024ab171028ab53d5d9026959b1d713fe170be591a4d9a8/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-win32.whl", hash = "sha256:e7cde58ef6470c0da922b65e885fb1ffe04deef81e526bd5dea429290fa358ca", size = 1043993, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:28.727Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/70/c8/bc64321711e19bd48ea3371f0082f10295c433833245d73e7606d3b9afbe/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-win_amd64.whl", hash = "sha256:fae552767d8e5153ed498f1bca92d905d0d46311d831eefb0f06de38f7695c95", size = 1078481, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:30.372Z" },
+    { url = "https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/39/31/2bb2003bb978eb25dfef7b5f98e1c2d4a86e973e63b367cc508a9308d31c/pymongo-4.15.3-cp314-cp314t-win_arm64.whl", hash = "sha256:47ffb068e16ae5e43580d5c4e3b9437f05414ea80c32a1e5cac44a835859c259", size = 1051179, upload-time = "2025-10-07T21:57:31.829Z" },
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "python-dateutil"
 version = "2.9.0.post0"
diff --git a/frontend/app/analyze/page.tsx b/frontend/app/analyze/page.tsx
index c86c6c9e..bee807e6 100644
--- a/frontend/app/analyze/page.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/analyze/page.tsx
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import {
 } from "lucide-react";
 import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
 import ThemeToggle from "@/components/theme-toggle";
+import ProfileMenu from "@/components/profile-menu";
 
 /**
  * Renders the main page for submitting an article URL to initiate AI-powered analysis.
@@ -102,8 +103,9 @@ export default function AnalyzePage() {
               Perspective
             </span>
           </div>
-          <div className="flex items-center space-x-4">
+          <div className="flex items-center space-x-2 md:space-x-3">
             <ThemeToggle />
+            <ProfileMenu />
           </div>
         </div>
       </header>
diff --git a/frontend/app/layout.tsx b/frontend/app/layout.tsx
index 3c5a4677..8284ca10 100644
--- a/frontend/app/layout.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/layout.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import "./globals.css"
 import type { Metadata } from "next"
 import { Inter } from "next/font/google"
 import { ThemeProvider } from "@/components/theme-provider"
+import { Toaster } from "@/components/ui/toaster"
 
 const inter = Inter({ subsets: ["latin"] })
 
@@ -28,6 +29,7 @@ export default function RootLayout({
       <body className={inter.className}>
         <ThemeProvider attribute="class" defaultTheme="system" enableSystem disableTransitionOnChange={false}>
           {children}
+          <Toaster />
         </ThemeProvider>
       </body>
     </html>
diff --git a/frontend/app/login/page.tsx b/frontend/app/login/page.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ad9fedc9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/app/login/page.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+import AuthForm from "@/components/auth-form";
+
+export const metadata = {
+  title: "Login | Perspective",
+};
+
+export default function Page() {
+  return <AuthForm />;
+}
diff --git a/frontend/app/page.tsx b/frontend/app/page.tsx
index bc1f0d76..66699f43 100644
--- a/frontend/app/page.tsx
+++ b/frontend/app/page.tsx
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import {
   Sparkles,
 } from "lucide-react";
 import ThemeToggle from "@/components/theme-toggle";
+import ProfileMenu from "@/components/profile-menu";
 
 /**
  * Renders the main landing page for the Perspective application, showcasing its features, technology stack, and calls to action.
@@ -111,8 +112,9 @@ export default function Home() {
               Perspective
             </span>
           </div>
-          <div className="flex items-center space-x-4">
+          <div className="flex items-center space-x-2 md:space-x-3">
             <ThemeToggle />
+            <ProfileMenu />
           </div>
         </div>
       </header>
diff --git a/frontend/components/auth-form.tsx b/frontend/components/auth-form.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7d6907e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/components/auth-form.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,163 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { useState } from "react";
+import { useRouter } from "next/navigation";
+import { Card, CardContent, CardHeader, CardTitle } from "@/components/ui/card";
+import { Input } from "@/components/ui/input";
+import { Label } from "@/components/ui/label";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
+import Link from "next/link";
+import { ArrowLeft, Eye, EyeOff } from "lucide-react";
+import { toast } from "@/hooks/use-toast";
+
+const API_BASE = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_API_URL || "http://localhost:7860/api";
+
+export default function AuthForm() {
+  const [isSignUp, setIsSignUp] = useState(false);
+  const [name, setName] = useState("");
+  const [email, setEmail] = useState("");
+  const [password, setPassword] = useState("");
+  const [showPassword, setShowPassword] = useState(false);
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
+  const router = useRouter();
+
+  const onSubmit = async (e: React.FormEvent) => {
+  e.preventDefault();
+    setLoading(true);
+    try {
+      const path = isSignUp ? "/auth/signup" : "/auth/login";
+      const body = isSignUp ? { name, email, password } : { email, password };
+      const res = await fetch(`${API_BASE}${path}`, {
+        method: "POST",
+        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
+        body: JSON.stringify(body),
+      });
+      if (!res.ok) {
+        let t: any = {}
+        try {
+          t = await res.json()
+        } catch (_) {
+          t = {}
+        }
+
+        // Provide human-friendly messages depending on endpoint and status
+        let message = t?.detail || "Authentication failed. Please try again."
+        if (!isSignUp) {
+          // login
+          if (res.status === 401) {
+            message = "Invalid email or password. If you don't have an account, click Sign up."
+          } else if (res.status === 404) {
+            message = "No account found for this email. Please sign up."
+          }
+        } else {
+          // signup
+          if (res.status === 400) {
+            const lower = String(t?.detail || "").toLowerCase()
+            if (lower.includes("already") || lower.includes("exists") || lower.includes("email")) {
+              message = "This email is already registered. Try logging in instead."
+            }
+          }
+        }
+
+        toast({ title: "Authentication error", description: message, variant: "destructive" })
+        setLoading(false)
+        return
+      }
+      const data = await res.json();
+      const token = data?.access_token;
+      if (!token) throw new Error("No token returned");
+      // Store token in a cookie for middleware to read
+      const maxAge = 60 * 60 * 2; // 2 hours
+      // httpOnly cannot be set from client-side JS; Secure only when served over HTTPS / production
+      const isSecure = typeof window !== 'undefined' && window.location.protocol === 'https:';
+      const secureFlag = isSecure ? '; Secure' : '';
+      document.cookie = `token=${token}; Path=/; Max-Age=${maxAge}; SameSite=Lax${secureFlag}`;
+
+      // Show success toast
+      toast({
+        title: isSignUp ? "Account created successfully!" : "Welcome back!",
+        description: isSignUp ? "You can now start analyzing articles." : "You've been logged in successfully.",
+        variant: "success",
+      });
+
+      router.push("/analyze");
+    } catch (err: any) {
+      const message = err?.message || "Something went wrong"
+      toast({ title: "Authentication error", description: message, variant: "destructive" })
+    } finally {
+      setLoading(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <div className="flex items-center justify-center min-h-screen px-4">
+      <Card className="w-full max-w-md border border-border/50 shadow-lg relative">
+        <div className="absolute left-4 top-4">
+          <Link
+            href="/"
+            aria-label="Back to home"
+            className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-9 h-9 rounded-full bg-background/70 backdrop-blur hover:bg-accent hover:text-accent-foreground transition-colors"
+          >
+            <ArrowLeft className="w-4 h-4" />
+          </Link>
+        </div>
+        <CardHeader className="space-y-1 text-center">
+          <CardTitle className="text-2xl font-semibold tracking-tight">{isSignUp ? "Create your account" : "Welcome back"}</CardTitle>
+          <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">{isSignUp ? "Sign up to get started" : "Log in to continue"}</p>
+        </CardHeader>
+        <CardContent>
+          <form onSubmit={onSubmit} className="space-y-4">
+            {isSignUp && (
+              <div className="space-y-2">
+                <Label htmlFor="name">Name</Label>
+                <Input id="name" placeholder="Your name" value={name} onChange={(e) => setName(e.target.value)} required />
+              </div>
+            )}
+            <div className="space-y-2">
+              <Label htmlFor="email">Email</Label>
+              <Input id="email" type="email" placeholder="you@example.com" value={email} onChange={(e) => setEmail(e.target.value)} required />
+            </div>
+            <div className="space-y-2">
+              <Label htmlFor="password">Password</Label>
+              <div className="relative">
+                <Input
+                  id="password"
+                  type={showPassword ? "text" : "password"}
+                  placeholder="••••••••"
+                  value={password}
+                  onChange={(e) => setPassword(e.target.value)}
+                  required
+                />
+                <button
+                  type="button"
+                  onClick={() => setShowPassword((s) => !s)}
+                  aria-label={showPassword ? "Hide password" : "Show password"}
+                  className="absolute right-2 top-1/2 -translate-y-1/2 text-slate-500 hover:text-slate-700 dark:text-slate-400 dark:hover:text-slate-200"
+                >
+                  {showPassword ? <EyeOff className="w-4 h-4" /> : <Eye className="w-4 h-4" />}
+                </button>
+              </div>
+            </div>
+            {/* Errors are shown via toast notifications */}
+            <Button type="submit" disabled={loading} className="w-full bg-gradient-to-r from-purple-600 to-blue-600 text-white hover:from-purple-700 hover:to-blue-700">
+              {loading ? (isSignUp ? "Creating..." : "Signing in...") : (isSignUp ? "Sign up" : "Login")}
+            </Button>
+          </form>
+          <div className="mt-4 text-center text-sm">
+            {isSignUp ? (
+              <span>
+                Already have an account?{" "}
+                <button onClick={() => setIsSignUp(false)} className="text-primary font-medium">Log in</button>
+              </span>
+            ) : (
+              <span>
+                Don’t have an account?{" "}
+                <button onClick={() => setIsSignUp(true)} className="text-primary font-medium">Sign up</button>
+              </span>
+            )}
+          </div>
+        </CardContent>
+      </Card>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/components/profile-menu.tsx b/frontend/components/profile-menu.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1352c0c2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/components/profile-menu.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+"use client";
+
+import { useRouter, usePathname } from "next/navigation";
+import { User, LogOut } from "lucide-react";
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
+import {
+  DropdownMenu,
+  DropdownMenuContent,
+  DropdownMenuItem,
+  DropdownMenuLabel,
+  DropdownMenuSeparator,
+  DropdownMenuTrigger,
+} from "@/components/ui/dropdown-menu";
+import { toast } from "@/hooks/use-toast";
+
+export default function ProfileMenu() {
+  const router = useRouter();
+  const pathname = usePathname();
+  const [isAuthenticated, setIsAuthenticated] = useState(false);
+  const [userEmail, setUserEmail] = useState("");
+
+  // Check authentication status on mount and pathname change
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const checkAuth = () => {
+      const token = document.cookie
+        .split("; ")
+        .find((row) => row.startsWith("token="))
+        ?.split("=")[1];
+
+      if (token) {
+        setIsAuthenticated(true);
+        // Robust base64url decoding for JWT payload
+        try {
+          const part = token.split(".")[1];
+          if (part) {
+            // base64url -> base64 (replace - and _ then pad)
+            let b64 = part.replace(/-/g, "+").replace(/_/g, "/");
+            while (b64.length % 4 !== 0) b64 += "=";
+            const json = decodeURIComponent(
+              atob(b64)
+                .split("")
+                .map(c => "%" + c.charCodeAt(0).toString(16).padStart(2, "0"))
+                .join("")
+            );
+            const payload = JSON.parse(json);
+            setUserEmail(payload.sub || "");
+          } else {
+            setUserEmail("");
+          }
+        } catch (e) {
+          setUserEmail("");
+        }
+      } else {
+        setIsAuthenticated(false);
+        setUserEmail("");
+      }
+    };
+
+    checkAuth();
+  }, [pathname]);
+
+  const handleLogout = () => {
+    // Remove token cookie
+    const isSecure = typeof window !== 'undefined' && window.location.protocol === 'https:';
+    const secureFlag = isSecure ? '; Secure' : '';
+    document.cookie = `token=; Path=/; Max-Age=0; SameSite=Lax${secureFlag}`;
+    setIsAuthenticated(false);
+    setUserEmail("");
+
+    toast({
+      title: "Logged out successfully",
+      description: "You've been logged out of your account.",
+      variant: "success",
+    });
+
+    router.push("/");
+  };
+
+  // Don't show on login page
+  if (pathname?.startsWith("/login")) {
+    return null;
+  }
+
+  // If not authenticated, show login button
+  if (!isAuthenticated) {
+    return (
+      <button
+        onClick={() => router.push("/login")}
+        aria-label="Go to login"
+        className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-9 h-9 md:w-10 md:h-10 rounded-full bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-600 via-indigo-600 to-purple-600 text-white shadow-md hover:shadow-lg transition-all duration-200 hover:-translate-y-0.5"
+      >
+        <User className="w-4 h-4 md:w-5 md:h-5" />
+      </button>
+    );
+  }
+
+  // If authenticated, show dropdown menu
+  return (
+    <DropdownMenu>
+      <DropdownMenuTrigger asChild>
+        <button
+          aria-label="User menu"
+          className="inline-flex items-center justify-center w-9 h-9 md:w-10 md:h-10 rounded-full bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-600 via-indigo-600 to-purple-600 text-white shadow-md hover:shadow-lg transition-all duration-200 hover:-translate-y-0.5 focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-blue-500 focus:ring-offset-2"
+        >
+          <User className="w-4 h-4 md:w-5 md:h-5" />
+        </button>
+      </DropdownMenuTrigger>
+      <DropdownMenuContent align="end" className="w-56">
+        <DropdownMenuLabel>
+          <div className="flex flex-col space-y-1">
+            <p className="text-sm font-medium leading-none">My Account</p>
+            {userEmail && (
+              <p className="text-xs leading-none text-muted-foreground truncate">
+                {userEmail}
+              </p>
+            )}
+          </div>
+        </DropdownMenuLabel>
+        <DropdownMenuSeparator />
+        <DropdownMenuItem
+          onClick={handleLogout}
+          className="cursor-pointer text-red-600 dark:text-red-400 focus:text-red-600 dark:focus:text-red-400"
+        >
+          <LogOut className="w-4 h-4 mr-2" />
+          Logout
+        </DropdownMenuItem>
+      </DropdownMenuContent>
+    </DropdownMenu>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/frontend/components/ui/toast.tsx b/frontend/components/ui/toast.tsx
index 521b94b0..4aa02fd8 100644
--- a/frontend/components/ui/toast.tsx
+++ b/frontend/components/ui/toast.tsx
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 import * as React from "react"
 import * as ToastPrimitives from "@radix-ui/react-toast"
 import { cva, type VariantProps } from "class-variance-authority"
-import { X } from "lucide-react"
+import { X, CheckCircle, XCircle, Info, AlertTriangle } from "lucide-react"
 
 import { cn } from "@/lib/utils"
 
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ const ToastViewport = React.forwardRef<
   <ToastPrimitives.Viewport
     ref={ref}
     className={cn(
-      "fixed top-0 z-[100] flex max-h-screen w-full flex-col-reverse p-4 sm:bottom-0 sm:right-0 sm:top-auto sm:flex-col md:max-w-[420px]",
+      // fixed top-right placement with stack and spacing
+      "fixed z-[100] top-4 right-4 flex flex-col gap-3 md:max-w-[420px]",
       className
     )}
     {...props}
@@ -25,13 +26,15 @@ const ToastViewport = React.forwardRef<
 ToastViewport.displayName = ToastPrimitives.Viewport.displayName
 
 const toastVariants = cva(
-  "group pointer-events-auto relative flex w-full items-center justify-between space-x-4 overflow-hidden rounded-md border p-6 pr-8 shadow-lg transition-all data-[swipe=cancel]:translate-x-0 data-[swipe=end]:translate-x-[var(--radix-toast-swipe-end-x)] data-[swipe=move]:translate-x-[var(--radix-toast-swipe-move-x)] data-[swipe=move]:transition-none data-[state=open]:animate-in data-[state=closed]:animate-out data-[swipe=end]:animate-out data-[state=closed]:fade-out-80 data-[state=closed]:slide-out-to-right-full data-[state=open]:slide-in-from-top-full data-[state=open]:sm:slide-in-from-bottom-full",
+  "group pointer-events-auto relative flex w-full items-center justify-between space-x-4 overflow-hidden rounded-lg border p-4 pr-8 shadow-2xl transition-all data-[swipe=cancel]:translate-x-0 data-[swipe=end]:translate-x-[var(--radix-toast-swipe-end-x)] data-[swipe=move]:translate-x-[var(--radix-toast-swipe-move-x)] data-[swipe=move]:transition-none data-[state=open]:animate-in data-[state=closed]:animate-out",
   {
     variants: {
       variant: {
-        default: "border bg-background text-foreground",
+        default: "border bg-gradient-to-br from-white/90 to-slate-50/80 dark:from-slate-800/80 dark:to-slate-900/80 text-foreground",
         destructive:
-          "destructive group border-destructive bg-destructive text-destructive-foreground",
+          "border-destructive bg-gradient-to-br from-red-600/95 to-rose-600/95 text-white",
+        success: "border-emerald-300 bg-gradient-to-br from-emerald-600/90 to-teal-600/90 text-white",
+        info: "border-blue-300 bg-gradient-to-br from-blue-600/90 to-indigo-600/90 text-white",
       },
     },
     defaultVariants: {
diff --git a/frontend/components/ui/toaster.tsx b/frontend/components/ui/toaster.tsx
index 7133ade2..5dfbc351 100644
--- a/frontend/components/ui/toaster.tsx
+++ b/frontend/components/ui/toaster.tsx
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   ToastTitle,
   ToastViewport,
 } from "@/components/ui/toast"
+import { CheckCircle, XCircle, Info, AlertTriangle } from "lucide-react"
 
 /**
  * Renders a toast notification system that displays active toast messages.
@@ -20,14 +21,43 @@ export function Toaster() {
 
   return (
     <ToastProvider>
-      {toasts.map(function ({ id, title, description, action, ...props }) {
+      {toasts.map(function ({ id, title, description, action, variant, ...props }) {
+        // choose icon and colors per variant
+        let Icon = Info
+        let badgeClass = "bg-slate-700"
+
+        if (variant === "destructive") {
+          Icon = XCircle
+          badgeClass = "bg-red-600"
+        } else if (variant === "success") {
+          Icon = CheckCircle
+          // use a strong green that reads well on dark/light backgrounds
+          badgeClass = "bg-emerald-500"
+        } else if (variant === "info") {
+          Icon = Info
+          badgeClass = "bg-blue-600"
+        } else {
+          // default / neutral
+          Icon = Info
+          badgeClass = "bg-slate-700"
+        }
+
         return (
-          <Toast key={id} {...props}>
-            <div className="grid gap-1">
-              {title && <ToastTitle>{title}</ToastTitle>}
-              {description && (
-                <ToastDescription>{description}</ToastDescription>
-              )}
+          <Toast key={id} {...props} variant={variant}>
+            <div className="flex items-start gap-3">
+              <div className="flex-shrink-0 mt-1">
+                {/* circular badge with subtle ring and shadow for a professional look */}
+                <div
+                  className={`w-10 h-10 rounded-full flex items-center justify-center ${badgeClass} ring-1 ring-white/10 shadow-md`}
+                  aria-hidden
+                >
+                  <Icon className="w-5 h-5 text-white" />
+                </div>
+              </div>
+              <div className="grid gap-1">
+                {title && <ToastTitle>{title}</ToastTitle>}
+                {description && <ToastDescription className="text-sm text-slate-100/95">{description}</ToastDescription>}
+              </div>
             </div>
             {action}
             <ToastClose />
diff --git a/frontend/middleware.ts b/frontend/middleware.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d45857df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/middleware.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+import { NextResponse } from "next/server";
+import type { NextRequest } from "next/server";
+
+export function middleware(req: NextRequest) {
+  const token = req.cookies.get("token")?.value;
+  const isProtected = req.nextUrl.pathname.startsWith("/analyze");
+  if (isProtected && !token) {
+    const url = new URL("/login", req.url);
+    url.searchParams.set("next", req.nextUrl.pathname + req.nextUrl.search);
+    return NextResponse.redirect(url);
+  }
+  return NextResponse.next();
+}
+
+export const config = {
+  matcher: ["/analyze/:path*"],
+};
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d26b1c53
--- /dev/null
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+{
+  "name": "my-Perspective-AOSSIE",
+  "lockfileVersion": 3,
+  "requires": true,
+  "packages": {}
+}