Terms, privacy and abuse policy
Last updated: 2026-10-13
DarkSearch.xyz is a search service operated by DarkSearch.xyz. By using it you agree to these terms. Questions about them: abuse@darksearch.xyz.
What DarkSearch.xyz is
DarkSearch.xyz keeps a search index of text (page titles, short excerpts and keywords) from web pages published on IPFS, the InterPlanetary File System. It does not host that content. Search results link to the content on a public IPFS gateway that we do not operate. The content belongs to whoever published it, and we do not review it before it is indexed. Results are provided as is, without warranty of any kind, and may be incomplete, out of date or wrong. To the extent the law allows, DarkSearch.xyz is not liable for the content of results or for your use of the service. The service is not intended for children under 13.
Acceptable use
- Do not search for, submit, or try to find illegal content, including child sexual abuse material.
- Do not use the service to harass, defraud or harm others.
- Do not try to get around rate limits (currently 5 submissions, reports or sign-ups per minute per address) or overload the service.
We may block access, remove results or turn search off at any time.
Child safety
We have zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material. Results reported or found to contain or point to it are removed from the index, and we report apparent child sexual abuse material to the NCMEC CyberTipline as required by law. You can report it to the CyberTipline directly as well.
Reporting results and takedowns
Every result has a Report link, and you can also use the report form or email abuse@darksearch.xyz. A reported result is hidden from search immediately and then reviewed. Please do not open content to check it before reporting. The index is also filtered with the public badbits denylist of reported IPFS content, and confirmed takedowns are added to our own denylist so the content is removed from the index and not fetched again.
Copyright (DMCA)
If you believe a result links to material that infringes your copyright, send a notice to dmca@darksearch.xyz that includes, as described in 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3):
- your physical or electronic signature;
- identification of the copyrighted work;
- identification of the result or content (the CID and path, or the search result URL) you want removed;
- your name, address, phone number and email address;
- a statement that you have a good faith belief the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent or the law; and
- a statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner.
If your content was removed and you believe that was a mistake, send a counter-notice to the same address with your contact details, the removed CID, and a statement under penalty of perjury that it was removed by mistake or misidentification. We may remove access for repeat infringers.
Privacy and the data we keep
- Searches and submissions: the time, your IP address, the search text or submitted CID, and your browser's user agent string.
- Reports: the time, IP address, user agent, the reported CID, the reason and any note you add.
- Early-access sign-ups: the time, IP address, user agent, email address, company and what you plan to use it for. We use these only to contact you about the API.
- Your gateway setting: if you choose your own gateway for results, it's kept in a cookie in your browser, sent with your requests and not logged.
- Server logs: our web servers record IP addresses and requested URLs, which include search terms.
- Google Analytics: we use Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager, which receive the pages you view, including their URLs and titles. On search pages those contain your search terms. Google sets cookies to do this; see how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
We keep these records on our own servers and do not currently delete them on a schedule. We do not sell them. We may disclose them when required by law, to respond to valid legal process, or with a report to the NCMEC CyberTipline. To ask about data relating to you, email abuse@darksearch.xyz.
Changes
We may update these terms; the date at the top shows the latest version. Continuing to use the service after a change means you accept the updated terms.