Investigate and remove Google's "Site may be hacked" search results and "Dangerous" or "Deceptive" warnings.

Google may flag your site if they detect suspicious content or security issues. Use this guide to identify why your site was flagged and how to request that Google remove the warning.

"This site may be hacked" search result

In Google search results, you might see a message below your site title and URL that says, "This site may be hacked." Use this guide to resolve the issue.

Why this happened

Google applies this message to sites when they notice something that seems suspicious, which can include normal content, especially if it has external text formatting.

This means that the message was most likely triggered by content you added to your site, not by hackers. You can use Google Search Console to figure out what's causing the message and remove it.

Squarespace sites come with a free SSL certificate to provide a secure connection for visitors. We use many other methods to protect our customers, including regular security scans  and industry-developed and proprietary tools to guard against potential intruders, DDoS attacks, and other vulnerabilities.

Remove the message using Google Search Console

You can try resolving this issue by verifying your site using Google Search Console and requesting a review from Google. 

Follow these steps:

1. Verify your site. Follow these steps to verify your site using Google Search Console.
2. Check for security issues. After you verify your site, log into Google Search Console and check the Security Issues section to see what triggered the message. Then, remove the content causing the issue.
3. Request a review. After you've removed the content, request a review. If everything looks good, Google will remove the message.

"Dangerous" or "Deceptive" site warning

If you see a red warning labeled "The site ahead contains malware" or "Deceptive site ahead" when visiting your site, Google has flagged your domain as unsafe. Squarespace can't remove these warnings because they're managed by Google. They're unrelated to your Squarespace SSL or DNS settings. You can try resolving this issue by requesting a review from Google.

To request that Google remove the warning:

1. On the red warning screen, click Details (Chrome) or See Details (Firefox).
2. Click Report a detection problem or Let us know.
3. Follow the prompts to submit a report to Google.

Why this happened

Google flags sites if they detect suspicious code, phishing activity, or unauthorized changes. This can happen if recently took over a domain that was previously used for spam, or if you added custom code from an unverified third-party.

Note: Google Search Console and resolving error messages seen in Google fall outside the scope of Squarespace support. For more help with these steps, visit Google's documentation.