AO3 Outage Could Last Two to Four Weeks After Security Incident

Archive of Our Own (AO3) is facing an extended shutdown after detecting evidence of a security incident. The Organization for Transformative Works (OTW), which operates the fanfiction site, says service restoration could take at least two weeks and potentially as long as four while the incident is investigated and addressed.

The outage was initially described as unplanned maintenance expected to last at least 12 hours. A later update said the site would remain offline as OTW works to determine the incident’s scope. The organization hopes it may be able to restore limited service sooner, but warned that AO3 could need to go offline temporarily again during the response.

OTW says no data has been deleted. It does not believe user data was compromised, but cannot rule that out and recommends changing an AO3 password if it is also used on other services. Donor information is held in a separate, unconnected database, according to the update.

The organization also said the incident is not related to a PHP security issue, noting that AO3 uses Ruby on Rails. Meanwhile, users have shared previously downloaded works and discussed alternatives in online communities, including Reddit and Bluesky.

Sources: CNET.