In what situations is it recommended to fetch avatars server-side rather than client-side in PHP?

When dealing with fetching avatars, it is recommended to fetch them server-side rather than client-side in situations where the avatars need to be securely accessed or manipulated before being displayed to the user. This approach helps prevent direct access to the avatar files and allows for additional security measures to be implemented on the server side. 

<?php

// Server-side code to fetch and display avatar
$avatarPath = 'path/to/avatar.jpg';
$avatarData = file_get_contents($avatarPath);
$avatarType = mime_content_type($avatarPath);

header('Content-Type: ' . $avatarType);
echo $avatarData;

?>

Keywords

PHP server-side client-side avatars performance

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