This is not an indexing issue. My projects are showing “This page has been quarantined.”
All of my projects were already published and previously indexed before this happened. Multiple users have confirmed the quarantine message on the website version. This started immediately after I updated my game page and one of my games, and it affected four projects at the same time, which strongly suggests an automated flag.
Thank you so much, hope I get a response and help soon.
Yes, this is a thing that happens, as explained in the unofficial FAQ pinned at the top of this category. But you said one of your projects was published hours ago. It wouldn’t have been indexed in any event if it was flagged for manual review.
I understand that newly published projects may not be indexed right away, especially if they’re flagged for review.
My concern is more about the fact that this didn’t only affect the new release. Several of my older projects that were already indexed are now showing as quarantined after I made updates, which is why this feels different from a normal indexing delay.
I’m okay with waiting for review, but since multiple projects were affected at the same time, I just wanted to clarify if this is expected behavior or if it could be a false positive. Thank you.
Indexing and quarantine issues are the same. It is an automatic system that puts games into a waiting queue for human staff to have a look. That can and does happen to already indexed projects. Every update can trigger temporary deindexing and even quarantine.
The problems arise, because waiting times are weeks instead of days.
Do not expect an answer to this. Imagine how Itch would tell scammers exactly what they did do trigger the automatic system...
For quarantine, the system might suspect that your account could be hacked. Maybe it is as simple and obscure as an internet capable device in your home network being hacked and used as a bot device in ddos attacks. Itch was very likely attacked again the last day. And there are things like Badbox with literal millions and millions of devices that even had the malware preinstalled.
Yeah, I get what you’re saying, and I agree that it’s probably the automated system putting my games into a review queue, especially since this happened right after I updated my page and one of my projects.
What’s throwing me off is that it hit multiple games at the same time, including ones that were already indexed for a while, which makes it feel more like a false positive than a normal recheck.
The long wait time is honestly the bigger issue for me. I understand why the system exists and why they can’t fully explain how it works, but being stuck without any clear timeline or feedback is pretty rough, especially since this directly affects visibility.
Not really convinced it’s anything like a hacked network or something external though. This feels more like the system being overly sensitive after updates.
Appreciate the insight either way.
Being indexed cannot be a protection against temporary deindexing or a quarantine. Especially if the system suspects your account might be compromised.
Even when not changing the files, one could change the page to have a link or an obfuscated link to a malware site.
If not all your games were hit, you probably touched each of the quarantined games.
The criminals try everything. And I mean everything. I even saw a criminal create a thread like this one. Not kidding. Itch is infested with malware and under constant attack. Sure, it could be better. But if I can chose between all those complaint threads and seeing hacked accounts, I chose the option with less hacked accounts.
The problem is, you cannot prove who you are. Not within Itch. Even on a separate system like Discord, some hackers might have captured your Itch plus Discord accounts and try to get as much coverage on a weekend, before they get cought.
This is a wild guess, but if you have 2fa, log out and in completely, maybe that expedites the quarantine check. Or helps reduce risk of further quarantine.
I did mention that bot network as a reminder that just because people cannot imagine a reason why they would trigger the system, that does not mean that there are not plausible reasons that a system might be suspicious. And those bot networks do exist and there are pre-hacked devices sold for cheap.
