Frequently Asked Questions

What is Copyscape?

Copyscape is the leading solution on the web for detecting online plagiarism. You can use Copyscape to check for plagiarism of your corporate website, online publication, blog or any other online content which is valuable to you. You can also use Copyscape to check if new content, whether purchased or AI-generated, copies text from elsewhere on the Internet. Read these testimonials to learn how others are using Copyscape to meet their needs.

How do I use Copyscape?

The free Copyscape service is very easy to use. Simply enter your URL and Copyscape will instantly scan the entire Web to check for duplicate content of your page. Copyscape shows you the top results for your search, and you can click on a result to see a word-by-word comparison with the content on your site. In this comparison, colored highlighting is used to show blocks of text that match the text on your site.

When I see matches in a Copyscape search, does that mean my content has been plagiarized?

The Copyscape plagiarism checker finds similar content online, but does not make judgments about which page is the "original", or whether content has been copied from another page. When a match is found, it could be that one page has copied from another, that one page is legitimately quoting another, that both pages are quoting from the same external source, or that similar phrases happen to appear on both pages by chance. It is up to the user to examine each case carefully and determine the nature of the similarity found. Please see Copyscape's Guide to Online Plagiarism for further information on identifying and responding to website plagiarism.

Why does Copyscape show a limited number of results?

Copyscape's plagiarism detector takes up significant resources, so we are only able to provide a limited number of results in the free service. If you would like to see more, please sign up for Copyscape Premium, which reports many more results than the free Copyscape service.

Why does Copyscape allow a limited number of scans for my site?

Copyscape'splagiarism detection software takes up significant resources, so we are only able to provide a limited number of free Copyscape scans per website per month. You may see a message indicating that the limit has been reached even though you have not performed many scans on a certain site – this simply means another user has already exceeded the limit for this site. In such a case, you may use Copyscape on another site, or sign up for Copyscape Premium which allows unlimited searches.

How do I search for copies of content that is not online?

The Copyscape Premium service allows you to check for copies of your offline content. Simply copy and paste your text directly into the search box and Copyscape Premium will search for copies of the text.

How can I check the originality of an article that was written for me?

Copyscape Premium allows you to easily check for duplicate content – whether a new article has been copied from the web, as a whole or in part. Simply copy and paste the text of the article into the search box and Copyscape Premium will search for the text online.

How do I compare two specific pieces of content?

Copyscape offers a free comparison tool which lets you easily compare any two pieces of online or offline content. Simply paste in the URL or the text for each piece of content, and this will show you matching areas side by side, along with word counts and other summary statistics.

How do I check for duplicate content within my site?

For sites with up to 25,000 pages, you can use Siteliner, our new website analysis tool. For larger sites, you can use the private index functionality of Copyscape Premium.

How do I protect my content against online plagiarism?

Place a free Copyscape Banner on each of your web pages to warn potential plagiarists that they will be found, and deter them from stealing your work. More tips for protection are described here.

The Copysentry service provides automatic online copyright protection by regularly scanning the Web for copies of your content and emailing you when new copies appear.

What should I do if someone has stolen my content?

In defending your rights online against plagiarists, it's important to be both vigilant and proactive. Copyscape's Guide to Online Plagiarism includes basic easy steps you can take to prevent and respond to website plagiarism.

What languages does Copyscape work with?

Copyscape can handle web pages written in all common world alphabets and languages, except those that use ideograms, such as Chinese hanzi, Japanese kanji and Korean hanja. If you're having a problem using Copyscape with your web page, please ensure you have set the page's character encoding correctly.

How do I use Copyscape for pages that require a login?

There are three possible approaches. The simplest solution is to configure your web server to allow all requests from the Copyscape servers. Possible IP addresses are: 162.13.83.46 and the range 46.4.250.49-52. If your server or gateway is using IPv6, you should use these.

Alternatively, create a copy of your website which is not password protected in a secret directory on your server, and point Copyscape to the pages in that secret directory. The final option is to set up your web pages so that a special secret parameter on the URL can bypass the password protection. For example ?bypass=865138024 could be added to the URL.

How can I tell Copyscape to skip parts of my web page?

You may instruct Copyscape to refrain from checking for copies of certain parts of your web page. This is done by adding a <!--copyscapeskip--> tag at the beginning of the section you want excluded, and adding a <!--/copyscapeskip--> tag at the end of that section. Note: This skipping works in one direction only – it will not prevent Copyscape from finding this content on your page when searching for copies of other pages.

Why do I see security warnings for Copyscape banners on secure (https) pages?

When a Copyscape banner is placed on a secure web page (https), a security warning may appear when the page is viewed in some browsers. To avoid this, make a local copy of the banner image on your server and embed the local copy using an https:// URL instead.

What is Copyscape Premium?

Copyscape Premium provides a more powerful plagiarism checker than the free service. With Copyscape Premium, you may also search for copies of offline content by copying and pasting your text into the search box. Copyscape Premium also provides the Batch Search feature, a private index for your offline content, team management tools, an API for integrating in your work flow, and case tracking to manage your responses to multiple instances of plagiarism of your online content.

How much does Copyscape Premium cost?

Searches cost 3c for the first 200 words plus 1c for each additional 100 words or part thereof. Premium Credits can be purchased in advance by credit card or PayPal.

What is the difference between Copyscape Premium and the free Copyscape service?

Copyscape Premium provides more powerful plagiarism detection than the free service, allowing more results for each search, instead of only 10 with the free service. Unlike the free service, Copyscape Premium also allows you to search for copies of offline content by copying and pasting your text into the search box. Premium also provides many other features.

How can I check my entire site in Copyscape Premium? (Batch Search)

Using Copyscape Premium Batch Search, you can easily check up to 10,000 pages in a single operation. You can set up your batch from a simple list of URLs, some top-level pages from which your pages are linked, or an XML sitemap. The searches will run automatically in the background, and you will be emailed when the batch is complete. Each page is billed in the same way as a search performed through the regular Copyscape Premium interface. In order to use the Batch Search feature, simply sign up for Copyscape Premium and click on 'Batch Search' in the 'Premium' menu at the top.

Can I automatically query Copyscape Premium? (API)

Using the Copyscape Premium API, you can automatically query the Copyscape service and receive results in JSON, XML or HTML format. Each API request is billed in the same way as a search performed through the regular Copyscape Premium interface. In order to use the API, simply sign up for Copyscape Premium, click on 'Premium API' in the 'Premium' menu at the top, and then click on the 'Enable API Access' button. Complete instructions will then be provided.

How can I manage a team of editors? (Linked accounts)

Copyscape Premium accounts may be linked to each other. Linking enables one Copyscape Premium user to pay for and track the searches performed by one or more other users. To link to an account, choose 'Linked Accounts' from the 'My Account' menu, enter the username and click 'Request Link'. The link must be accepted by the other user, and can be removed by either user at any time.

How can I check for duplication within my own content? (Private Index)

If you want to check for duplicate content within a single website of up to 25,000 pages, you should use Siteliner, our new website analysis tool.

For other purposes, you can use the Private Index feature of Copyscape Premium. This allows you to check for duplication and plagiarism within your own content, even if it is not online or has not been indexed by search engines.

You may build up your private index using the Copyscape Premium web interface or the Premium API. Your Copyscape Premium account is charged $0.01 (1 US cent) for every 1,000 words added to your private index, or part thereof. There is no limit on how much content you may add.

Once you have built up your private index, you may use Copyscape Premium or the Premium API to check new content against your private index at any time. This works similarly to a regular Copyscape Premium search, with the same price. You may also check new content against both your private index and the Internet at the same time, for the price of two searches.

Your private index is never shared with other Copyscape users, and is accessible only via your Copyscape account.

Can I run Copyscape Premium on my own infrastructure?

Yes, Copyscape Enterprise lets you deploy Copyscape's trusted plagiarism detection service on your own infrastructure, either on-premises on in a private cloud. Copyscape Enterprise can check both human- and AI-generated content, offering maximum security and control.

What is Copysentry?

Copysentry provides automatic protection of your entire website by regularly monitoring the web for new copies and emailing you whenever new copies appear.

How do I protect my site with Copysentry?

To start protecting your site, simply sign up for Copysentry and enter your web site details. Your automatic protection can be up and running in minutes.

How do I receive my Copysentry alerts?

Your Copysentry alerts are sent by email to the address you specify. You can choose whether you want to receive your emails in HTML or Plain Text format by logging in and clicking 'User Settings' in the 'My Account' menu. You can also view your previous Copysentry results by logging in and clicking 'Browse Results' in the 'Copysentry' menu.

How much does Copysentry cost?

The Copysentry Standard service checks for copies of your pages every week. It costs $4.95 per month for up to 10 pages on your site, and $0.25/month for each additional page up to 500 pages. The Copysentry Professional service checks for copies of your pages every day. It costs $19.95 per month for up to 10 pages on your site, and $1.00/month for each additional page up to 500 pages. More information is available here. To protect sites with more than 500 pages, please contact us.

How often does Copysentry scan for copies?

The Copysentry Professional service scans for copies of your content every day. The Copysentry Standard service scans every week. To change the frequency of your scans, log in and click on 'User Settings' in the 'My Account' menu.

Will Copysentry keep reporting the same page?

By default, Copysentry only reports a page which has copied your content the first time it is seen. If you prefer to be emailed all the pages found every time, go to 'User Settings' in the 'My Account' menu, and change the 'Include in email' setting. To view the archive of pages which were found in the past, log in to your Copysentry account and click 'Browse Results' in the 'Copysentry' menu.

Why have I not received any Copysentry alert emails?

Ensure that you have entered a valid email address in the 'User Settings', accessible through the 'My Account' menu in your Copysentry account. If you are using a spam filter or challenge service, ensure that you have added copysentry@copyscape.com to your list of permitted senders.

How do I reduce the number of results reported by Copysentry?

If Copysentry is reporting too many or too few results, you change your settings to only report pages whose text matches at least 1, 2, 3 or 4 sentences of your content. Log in to your Copysentry account and click on 'User Settings' in the 'My Account' menu.

How do I get fewer Copysentry reminders?

To receive fewer Copysentry reminder emails, click on the link that appears at the top of your Copysentry alert email, change the reminder frequency and click 'Confirm'.

Does Copysentry notice if my own content changes?

Yes, the latest version of your content is automatically retrieved from your website before every plagiarism scan performed by Copysentry. If one of your pages has moved or is inaccessible, you will automatically be notified by email.

How do I stop protecting a specific web page in Copysentry?

To stop protecting a specific page, click 'Stop Protecting' next to the page in a Copysentry alert email (HTML format only).

Why do I no longer have enough Copysentry protection for all my pages?

This can happen if you set up Copysentry to follow links from a page, or protect the pages listed in an XML Sitemap or news feed. As a result of changes on your site, you may now need to protect significantly more pages than the number covered by the Copysentry service you originally purchased.

You can upgrade your protection easily by clicking the link in the email, or logging in to your Copysentry account. When upgrading, you will automatically be credited for the remaining time in your current Copysentry subscription.

If you do not wish to purchase additional protection, you can choose instead to stop protecting some pages.

How do I ignore results from a particular site?

Add the site to the list of sites to be ignored in the 'User Settings' of your Copyscape account, accessible through the 'My Account' menu. If you are using Copysentry, you can also click 'ignore site' next to a result from that site in a Copysentry alert email (HTML format only).

This feature is useful if there are other sites on the Web legitimately mirroring some of your content, or if your site is hosted on more than one URL.

What if I have forgotten my username or password?

When you log in, click on 'I forgot my password' and enter your username or email address. A password reset link will be emailed to you, with instructions on how to proceed. If you are using Copysentry, your username appears at the bottom of each Copysentry email.

How do I change my password or email address?

Log in to your account, then click on 'User Settings' in the 'My Account' menu. You can then click on 'Change Password' to change your password. You can also type in a new email address in the area provided, and click 'Save Changes'.

How do I print an invoice for my payments?

Click on 'View Payments' in the 'My Account' menu of your Copyscape account to see a list of all your payments. Then click on 'HTML' or 'PDF' next to the payment for which you would like an invoice. You may then print out the invoice shown.

What are the terms and conditions of use?

Click to see the official Terms and Conditions of Use. Copyscape's services are provided "as is" with no warranties whatsoever. Use of Copyscape is entirely at your own risk. Copyscape disclaims any and all warranties for all services and information provided by Copyscape.

What is Copyscape's privacy policy?

Click to see the official Privacy Policy. Copyscape respects the privacy of its users and takes the privacy of all user information seriously.

Where does Copyscape get its results?

Copyscape uses Google and Bing as search providers, under agreed terms. Search providers send standard search results to Copyscape, without any post-processing. Copyscape uses complex proprietary algorithms to modify these search results in order to provide a plagiarism checking service. Any charges are for Copyscape's value-added services, not for the provision of search results by the search providers.

How can I contact Copyscape?

Send in your questions, comments or suggestions using the Copyscape contact form. Your views are always welcome.