Thousands of people in the United States and the United Kingdom are saying that 4chan is down. Outages started early on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Downdetector shows over 1,200 reports by 4 a.m. ET, with 71% of users having trouble accessing the site. This outage has led to many people online speculating about a possible major hack.
Social media and online discussions indicate that 4chan might have experienced a serious security breach. Some reports that haven’t been confirmed claim hackers leaked internal emails, chat logs, and even the entire database of the site.
Users suggest that the attackers took advantage of outdated PHP code and deprecated MySQL functions in 4chan’s backend, especially in a core script named yotsuba.php, which handles post submissions and moderation. There are also claims that hackers have exposed the email addresses of site administrators and moderators. Some of these addresses may include .edu and .gov domains, but this is not verified.
The hack is reportedly connected to a group from the Soyjak.Party community. They allegedly restored the deleted /QA/ board and temporarily accessed 4chan’s administrative site. Screenshots and code snippets that seem to be from the hack have been shared widely on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, raising further concerns about the extent of the breach.
So far, 4chan’s administrators have not made an official statement about the outage or the alleged hack. The site is mostly unreachable, and it’s unclear how serious the data leak is. Users are advised to keep checking trusted news sources for updates as the situation changes.
This incident has restarted discussions about 4chan’s security measures. Many people blame outdated software for making the site vulnerable. Known for its controversial content and past leaks, 4chan now faces increased scrutiny regarding its ability to protect user and moderator data.
In summary, 4chan is currently down due to reports of a significant hack and data leak. Updates are expected as more information becomes available.