November 3, 2026, 1:50 pm | Read time: 2 minutes
Millions of fanfiction fans will have to wait longer: Archive of Our Own is not accessible as usual following a hacker attack. It could take several weeks before the platform is fully operational again.
Archive of Our Own, or AO3, was originally supposed to be offline for about twelve hours. However, the planned maintenance has turned into a much longer outage. According to a report by the New York Times on October 30, the popular fanfiction platform was targeted by a hacker attack. Since then, users have been unable to access the site as usual. Fans publish and read stories related to movies, series, books, games, and other well-known works on the platform. When AO3 will be fully available again is currently unknown. Instead of a few hours, the restoration is now expected to take between two and four weeks.
These User Data Are at Risk
At least for the published content, there is some relief. According to AO3, no works, bookmarks, or “Kudos”–the platform’s likes–were deleted in the attack. However, AO3 cannot completely rule out a data breach. The attackers may have accessed the user database.
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This database may contain usernames, email and IP addresses, as well as encrypted versions of passwords. While AO3 emphasizes that passwords are protected with standard security procedures, users who use the same password for other services should change it there as a precaution.
What Happens Next?
There is currently no set date for the platform’s full return. Fans may not have to completely forgo AO3, though. According to the current status, the site could be partially accessible sooner. However, intermittent outages may still occur.
To avoid missing any updates, users should check AO3’s official status page. The platform provides information on current disruptions and new developments there. A final date for the full return is likely to be announced there first. Until then, patience is key.