diff --git a/api/conf/settings/rest_framework.py b/api/conf/settings/rest_framework.py
index b994d45c197..17f305043c7 100644
--- a/api/conf/settings/rest_framework.py
+++ b/api/conf/settings/rest_framework.py
@@ -57,3 +57,7 @@
         **{k: None for k, _ in REST_FRAMEWORK["DEFAULT_THROTTLE_RATES"].items()}
     )
     del REST_FRAMEWORK["DEFAULT_THROTTLE_CLASSES"]
+
+# https://www.django-rest-framework.org/api-guide/throttling/#how-clients-are-identified
+# We override this in live environments to an appropriate number based on our deployment
+NUM_PROXIES = config("NUM_PROXIES", default=0, cast=int)