Skip to content
Forum Fortress
Get started free

Frequently Asked Questions

If you are installing now, start with the guide for your forum platform. This page is for the questions that usually come up before or after installation.

General Questions

What is Forum Fortress?

Forum Fortress checks supported registrations, posts and other forum activity for spam. It does not add CAPTCHAs or other verification steps for forum members.

How does Forum Fortress work?

When someone registers, posts or performs another monitored action, the plugin submits the relevant details to Forum Fortress. The service checks network, account, content, link, reputation and behavioural signals, then returns an allow or block decision.

Do I need a portal account to use Forum Fortress?

No. You can install and use the plugin without a portal account. Connect an account when you want activity history, plan controls, moderation tools or account support.

Which forum platforms do you support?

Currently supported platforms: - Flarum 1.8.x and 2.x (plugin 1.4.1; Flarum 2.0 RC5 or newer) - XenForo 2.x (stable 1.9.2 add-on) - phpBB 3.x (stable 1.3.1 extension) - Invision Community 5.x (stable 1.4.1 application) - SMF 2.1 (stable 1.2 plugin) - MyBB 1.8.x (stable 1.2.1 plugin) - Discourse current self-hosted releases (stable 1.0 plugin) - NodeBB 4.16 and later 4.x releases (stable 1.0.1 plugin)

Is there a free plan?

Yes. The Free plan offers ongoing protection for one forum. See Product, trial and plans for the published limits and plan comparison; your portal is the source for the options available to your account.

Installation and Setup

How long does installation take?

Installation time depends on the forum platform, package method and server access. Follow the guide for your platform and run its connection test before relying on protection.

Do I need technical expertise to install Forum Fortress?

You need administrator access and the ability to install a plugin, extension or application on your forum. Each platform guide lists its exact steps and requirements.

Will Forum Fortress slow down my forum?

Performance depends on the forum platform, action being checked, connection quality and plugin settings. If a forum becomes slow after installation, run the plugin connection test and note the time, error, forum version and plugin version before contacting support.

Can I test Forum Fortress before enabling it on my live forum?

Yes. Install on a staging copy first if you have one, run the plugin connection test, and use the portal's activity and Decision log to understand recorded outcomes. Signed-in customers can also use the portal's Blocklist checker to check a known IP address, email address, username, URL or domain without creating a test post.

What happens to existing spam on my forum?

Forum Fortress only protects against new activity after installation. It doesn't automatically clean up existing spam. You'll need to handle existing spam through your forum's normal moderation tools.

Privacy and Security

What information does Forum Fortress collect?

Forum Fortress analyses information needed for spam detection, including: - IP addresses and network information - Email addresses and domains - Usernames and display names - Post content, signatures, and profile information - Registration and behavioural patterns

See Privacy and network access for complete details.

How long do you keep my forum's data?

  • Raw event details such as IP addresses, email addresses, usernames, user-agent values, submitted content and links: no more than five days
  • Allowed events: deleted after that period without creating retained abuse intelligence
  • Qualifying adverse events: the outcome, reason codes, signal classes and non-raw technical metadata may remain for the active account after raw identifiers are removed
  • Shared abuse-prevention signals: retained only without forum, event, content or cross-identifier attribution

The Privacy Policy is the authoritative current description. Ask the support team to review any retention, rights or legal question about a particular person or situation.

Is Forum Fortress GDPR compliant?

GDPR compliance depends on how you configure and use the service. Review the Privacy Policy and seek legal advice if you are unsure about your obligations.

Can I use Forum Fortress with a privacy-focused forum?

Forum Fortress limits unnecessary data collection and keeps raw event details for no more than five days. Review Privacy and network access and your own legal obligations before enabling it on a live community.

Technical Questions

What network access does Forum Fortress require?

Your server needs outbound HTTPS access on port 443 to hosts ending in *.ffapi.net. No inbound connections are required.

Will Forum Fortress work with my hosting provider?

Your hosting provider must allow outbound HTTPS connections to *.ffapi.net on port 443. Ask the provider to check its egress rules if the connection test fails.

Can I use Forum Fortress with a CDN or firewall?

The plugin makes outbound connections from your forum server. A CDN or firewall can remain in place as long as it allows outbound HTTPS to *.ffapi.net.

Does Forum Fortress work with other anti-spam tools?

You can run Forum Fortress alongside other anti-spam tools. Check the order and settings of each tool so that conflicting actions are easier to diagnose.

What happens if Forum Fortress is unavailable?

The outcome during a service or network failure depends on the installed plugin and its configured availability setting. Check the setting in your forum admin area before relying on a particular behaviour. Most plugins expose a connection test so you can confirm normal reachability.

Features and Plans

What's included in the free plan?

The Free plan includes ongoing spam protection for one forum, 2,000 checks per month, up to 50 automatic blocks per day, basic explanations and logs, seven-day Insights, and one qualifying evidence-backed pattern. It also includes 24/7 AI telephone and live-chat support plus standard handling for human support tickets.

Check forumfortress.com/pricing for current free plan details.

What advanced features are available?

Core adds higher limits, longer Insights history and faster human ticket handling. Pro adds longer and custom Insights periods, interactive graphs, exports, combined multi-forum analytics, the MultiMod workspace, priority tickets and human phone support. See Product, trial and plans for the current comparison.

Can I upgrade or downgrade my plan?

Use the Plan page in the portal to see the plans and change options currently available to your account. It shows the terms that apply before you confirm a change.

Do you offer discounts for multiple forums?

Core supports up to two connected forums and Pro supports up to five. Contact support if you need a higher-volume plan or more forums.

Moderation and Workflow

How do I handle blocked items?

  1. Log into the portal
  2. Go to the Decision log
  3. Review the item details and context
  4. Use your forum moderation tools to restore or approve anything blocked incorrectly
  5. Adjust sensitivity or report false positives if a pattern repeats

Can I customise how aggressive the spam protection is?

Use the protection controls shown by your installed plugin. Available settings differ by forum platform, so check the relevant installation guide before changing how decisions are applied.

Will Forum Fortress interfere with my existing moderation workflow?

Forum Fortress integrates with your forum's existing moderation system. Allowed requests proceed normally, while blocked requests are logged for review in the Forum Fortress portal.

Can I moderate multiple forums from one portal account?

Yes. One portal account can manage connected forums within its plan limit. Pro also includes combined analytics and the MultiMod moderation workspace.

What if Forum Fortress blocks a legitimate user?

You can: - Restore or approve them through your forum moderation tools - Adjust sensitivity settings to reduce false positives - Use the portal's moderation tools to override decisions - Contact support if you see patterns of incorrect blocking

Troubleshooting

The connection test fails. What should I do?

  1. Check that your server can make outbound HTTPS requests to *.ffapi.net
  2. Test with: curl -v https://api.ffapi.net/health
  3. Check firewall, WAF, and hosting security settings
  4. Contact your hosting provider if needed

See the full Troubleshooting guide for more solutions.

Forum Fortress isn't blocking obvious spam. Why?

Possible causes: - Protection isn't enabled for all relevant actions - Sensitivity settings are too permissive - The spam is using new patterns not yet detected - Connection issues preventing proper analysis

Check plugin settings and portal activity to diagnose the issue.

Moderation actions are not syncing. How do I fix this?

  1. Try clearing your browser cache and logging back in
  2. Check if your forum's moderation system is working normally
  3. Review the decision log and plugin settings for specific error messages
  4. Contact support if actions still do not sync

My forum appears slow after installing Forum Fortress. Is this normal?

If the forum becomes slow after installation: - Check server resource usage - Review hosting configuration - Consider if other changes happened around the same time - Monitor during different usage periods

Billing and Account

How does billing work?

The published plans use simple annual pricing:

  • Free is $0
  • Core is $10 per year
  • Pro is $40 per year

Check your plan details in the portal for specific billing information.

Where can I check cancellation or renewal details?

Open Plan in the portal. It shows the current billing and renewal controls for your account. For a billing dispute, refund, or account-specific question, use Contact in the portal so support can review the account safely.

What payment methods do you accept?

Payment details are entered through Stripe. The checkout screen shows the methods available before you pay.

Do you offer refunds?

Fees are non-refundable unless the law requires otherwise. We may issue a goodwill refund or credit at our discretion. See the Terms of Service and contact support about a specific payment.

Support

How do I get help?

  1. Check this FAQ and the troubleshooting guide
  2. Chat with Forum Fortress support at chat.forumfortress.com
  3. Use portal Contact for account-specific issues: portal.forumfortress.com
  4. Check service status at status.forumfortress.com

What should I include when contacting support?

  • Your forum URL
  • Forum platform and version (e.g., "XenForo 2.2.13")
  • Plugin/extension version
  • Specific error messages or screenshots
  • When the issue started
  • What you were trying to do when it happened

How quickly will I get a response?

Response times vary by plan: - Free: standard human ticket handling - Core: accelerated handling and faster human replies - Pro: priority human replies, plus human telephone support during configured availability

Forum Fortress does not publish a response-time promise unless a specific commitment is shown in your account. AI telephone and live chat are available around the clock and identify themselves as AI.

Can I request new features?

Use the portal Contact form to submit a feature request. A request does not guarantee that the feature will be added.

Technical Integration

Can I integrate Forum Fortress with custom forum code?

The public service is provided through the supported forum plugins. Contact support before planning a custom integration.

Do you have an API for developers?

Forum Fortress does not publish a general developer API. Contact support if none of the supported plugins fits your forum.

Can I export my data from Forum Fortress?

Pro includes supported report exports. For a privacy request or another account export, use the portal Contact form or the privacy request form.

How do I migrate between forum platforms?

Install the plugin for the new platform and run its connection test. Contact support before moving the old forum connection or relying on existing history, because the required steps depend on the domains and platforms involved.