What is Cloudflare?
Cloudflare operates the world's largest CDN and one of the most popular DNS resolvers (1.1.1.1). Their security systems evaluate domains for phishing, malware, and other threats, affecting traffic through Cloudflare's proxy network, 1.1.1.1 for Families DNS filtering, Cloudflare Gateway, and Cloudflare Zero Trust products. Cloudflare processes over 57 million HTTP requests per second and protects over 25 million internet properties.
Why Cloudflare flags legitimate domains
- Cloudflare automated scanners detected phishing content or malware distribution on your domain
- Third-party threat feeds consumed by Cloudflare (Netcraft, PhishTank, etc.) reported your domain
- User reports via Cloudflare's abuse system flagged your domain as phishing or malicious
- Your domain hosts content that mimics login pages of known brands (phishing heuristics)
- Previously compromised pages on your domain were reported and the flag persists after cleanup
- Your domain was categorized based on shared hosting IP reputation from other flagged tenants
What a listing means for your business
A Cloudflare security flag affects domains at multiple layers: DNS resolution via 1.1.1.1 for Families, enterprise traffic through Cloudflare Gateway and Zero Trust, and threat intelligence consumed by third-party products via Cloudflare Radar. With 20%+ of web traffic flowing through Cloudflare, a flag can have massive reach.
How BrandsDefender gets you delisted
We verify that your domain is clean, prepare the evidence Cloudflare needs, file the false positive dispute through the right channel and follow up until the flag is removed. No cure, no pay.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if Cloudflare flags my domain?
Use Cloudflare Radar at radar.cloudflare.com/scan to scan your URL, or check domain categorization at radar.cloudflare.com/domains. Both are free and require no account.
How fast does Cloudflare resolve disputes?
Cloudflare has automated 78% of phishing reports with median resolution under 1 hour for hosted content. Domain categorization corrections typically take 24 hours. Complex manual reviews can take 3-21 days.