FAQ
We get the same handful of questions every few months. Rather than bury them in forum threads that rot, they’re written down here. If something on this page conflicts with a newer homepage note, trust the newer status list first.
What is DarkFail, exactly?
A small status list. We check whether a short set of darknet-related sites still answer on their published onion (or mirror) URLs, then mark them live or dead. That’s the whole product. We’re not a market, not an escrow, and not customer support for anyone else’s service.
Is this legal / can I use it?
DarkFail itself is a research/informational page. What you do with third-party links is on you and the laws where you live. We don’t give legal advice. If you’re unsure, talk to a lawyer—not a status page.
How do you decide live vs dead?
Manual and semi-automated reachability checks against the last URL we trust enough to list. If a host stops answering for long enough, or the fingerprint no longer matches what we previously saw, it goes dead. “Dead” does not always mean seized; sometimes people just move and we haven’t verified the new address yet.
Dates on each market page (for example “as of 13 July 2026”) are when that status was last written down—not a promise the site will still be up tomorrow morning.
Why did a link change?
Onions rotate. Operators get DDoS’d, burn a key, or abandon a mirror. We only swap a URL after we’ve seen more than one independent signal that the new one is the same project—preferably a PGP-signed note. If your bookmark and our list disagree, slow down. Phishing clones love that exact moment.
Do you sell anything / take crypto?
No. We don’t sell accounts, “VIP access,” mirrors, or lists. Anyone DMing you as “darkfail support” asking for XMR is lying. We never ask for seed phrases, wallet files, or 2FA codes.
Can you add my market / remove one?
Maybe. New listings have to clear a boring checklist: public footprint we can cross-check, not an obvious clone of something already listed, and not pure spam. Removals happen when a project is gone for good or the brand is too poisoned by fakes to be useful. Use the contact page—don’t expect a same-day reply.
Why isn’t every market listed?
On purpose. A long directory full of half-dead mirrors is how people get phished. We’d rather keep a short list we can actually re-check than pretend we track the entire underground.
How should I verify a link myself?
Bookmark sources you already trust. Prefer PGP-signed announcements over Google results and random Telegram invites. Compare the onion character-by-character—don’t just glance at the first few letters. If someone rushes you (“old link is seized, use this one NOW”), treat that as a red flag.
Do you run Tor / host markets?
No. We publish a website. Third-party onions are someone else’s infrastructure. If a market is offline, we can’t “restore” it for you.
Where’s the onion for DarkFail?
When the onion mirror is healthy we list it in site metadata / older mirrors people already bookmarked. Clearnet darkfail.io is the main research front door. Don’t trust random “darkfail” onions that show up in search ads.
Still stuck?
Read About for history and scope, or Contact if you have a concrete correction (wrong URL, dead listing that revived with proof, etc.). Vague “is X legit?” messages without sources usually get ignored—we don’t have bandwidth to do free private investigations.