diff --git a/public/app.js b/public/app.js
index 2094fc8..6a04382 100644
--- a/public/app.js
+++ b/public/app.js
@@ -2,9 +2,9 @@ function openSignup() {
   document.getElementById('signupModal').classList.add('active');
   document.getElementById('signupForm').style.display = 'block';
   document.getElementById('keyResult').style.display = 'none';
-  document.getElementById('signupEmail').value = '';
   document.getElementById('signupError').style.display = 'none';
-  setTimeout(function() { document.getElementById('signupEmail').focus(); }, 100);
+  document.getElementById('signupBtn').textContent = 'Get API Key';
+  document.getElementById('signupBtn').disabled = false;
 }
 
 function closeSignup() {
@@ -16,35 +16,33 @@ document.getElementById('signupModal').addEventListener('click', function(e) {
   if (e.target === this) closeSignup();
 });
 
-// Submit on Enter
-document.getElementById('signupEmail').addEventListener('keydown', function(e) {
-  if (e.key === 'Enter') submitSignup();
-});
-
 async function submitSignup() {
-  var email = document.getElementById('signupEmail').value.trim();
   var errEl = document.getElementById('signupError');
   var btn = document.getElementById('signupBtn');
 
-  if (!email) {
-    errEl.textContent = 'Please enter your email.';
-    errEl.style.display = 'block';
-    return;
-  }
-
   btn.textContent = 'Creating...';
   btn.disabled = true;
+  errEl.style.display = 'none';
 
   try {
     var res = await fetch('/v1/signup/free', {
       method: 'POST',
       headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
-      body: JSON.stringify({ email: email })
+      body: JSON.stringify({})
     });
+
+    if (res.status === 429) {
+      errEl.textContent = 'Too many requests. Please try again in a few minutes.';
+      errEl.style.display = 'block';
+      btn.textContent = 'Get API Key';
+      btn.disabled = false;
+      return;
+    }
+
     var data = await res.json();
 
     if (!res.ok) {
-      errEl.textContent = data.error || 'Something went wrong.';
+      errEl.textContent = data.error || 'Something went wrong. Please try again.';
       errEl.style.display = 'block';
       btn.textContent = 'Get API Key';
       btn.disabled = false;
@@ -72,7 +70,6 @@ function copyKey() {
   }
   try {
     navigator.clipboard.writeText(key).then(showCopied).catch(function() {
-      // Fallback for older browsers / non-secure contexts
       var ta = document.createElement('textarea');
       ta.value = key; ta.style.position = 'fixed'; ta.style.opacity = '0';
       document.body.appendChild(ta); ta.select();
diff --git a/public/index.html b/public/index.html
index b93fb9a..bc3c9e3 100644
--- a/public/index.html
+++ b/public/index.html
@@ -223,17 +223,17 @@ footer { padding: 40px 0; text-align: center; color: var(--muted); font-size: 0.
     <button class="close" id="btn-close-signup">&times;</button>
     <div id="signupForm">
       <h2>Get Your Free API Key</h2>
-      <p>Enter your email and get an API key instantly. No credit card required.</p>
+      <p>One click. No email, no credit card.</p>
       <div class="error" id="signupError"></div>
-      <input type="email" id="signupEmail" placeholder="you@example.com" autofocus>
       <button class="btn btn-primary" style="width:100%" id="signupBtn">Get API Key</button>
     </div>
     <div class="key-result" id="keyResult">
       <h2>🚀 You're in!</h2>
-      <p>Here's your API key. <strong>Save it now</strong> — it won't be shown again.</p>
+      <p>Here's your API key:</p>
       <div class="key-box" id="apiKeyDisplay" title="Click to copy"></div>
       <div class="copy-hint">Click to copy</div>
-      <p style="margin-top:24px;color:var(--muted);font-size:0.9rem;">100 free PDFs/month • All endpoints • <a href="/docs">View docs →</a></p>
+      <p style="margin-top:12px;color:#f66;font-size:0.9rem;font-weight:600;">⚠️ Save your API key — we can't recover it later.</p>
+      <p style="margin-top:16px;color:var(--muted);font-size:0.9rem;">100 free PDFs/month • All endpoints • <a href="/docs">View docs →</a></p>
     </div>
   </div>
 </div>
diff --git a/src/routes/signup.ts b/src/routes/signup.ts
index 201f547..f98c1ab 100644
--- a/src/routes/signup.ts
+++ b/src/routes/signup.ts
@@ -20,20 +20,19 @@ const signupLimiter = rateLimit({
 
 // Self-service free API key signup
 router.post("/free", signupLimiter, (req: Request, res: Response) => {
-  const { email } = req.body;
+  const { email } = req.body || {};
 
-  if (!email || typeof email !== "string") {
-    res.status(400).json({ error: "Email is required" });
-    return;
+  // Email is optional — validate only if provided
+  let cleanEmail: string | undefined;
+  if (email && typeof email === "string") {
+    if (!/^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]+$/.test(email)) {
+      res.status(400).json({ error: "Invalid email address" });
+      return;
+    }
+    cleanEmail = email.trim().toLowerCase();
   }
 
-  // Basic email validation
-  if (!/^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]+$/.test(email)) {
-    res.status(400).json({ error: "Invalid email address" });
-    return;
-  }
-
-  const keyInfo = createFreeKey(email.trim().toLowerCase());
+  const keyInfo = createFreeKey(cleanEmail);
 
   res.json({
     message: "Welcome to DocFast! 🚀",
diff --git a/src/services/keys.ts b/src/services/keys.ts
index 5601c7b..228efd5 100644
--- a/src/services/keys.ts
+++ b/src/services/keys.ts
@@ -67,15 +67,17 @@ function generateKey(prefix: string): string {
   return `${prefix}_${randomBytes(24).toString("hex")}`;
 }
 
-export function createFreeKey(email: string): ApiKey {
-  // Check if email already has a free key
-  const existing = store.keys.find((k) => k.email === email && k.tier === "free");
-  if (existing) return existing;
+export function createFreeKey(email?: string): ApiKey {
+  // If email provided, check if it already has a free key
+  if (email) {
+    const existing = store.keys.find((k) => k.email === email && k.tier === "free");
+    if (existing) return existing;
+  }
 
   const entry: ApiKey = {
     key: generateKey("df_free"),
     tier: "free",
-    email,
+    email: email || "",
     createdAt: new Date().toISOString(),
   };
   store.keys.push(entry);