Why a Site Changed Categories Overnight
The same website can be blocked on Monday and allowed on Tuesday without you changing anything. Here's how category classification evolves and what to do.
Why classifications move
The filtering engine classifies domains into categories using multiple signals, and the web doesn't sit still: a parked domain becomes a store, a news site adds a comment section, a video host rotates servers. Our category lists update continuously — so a site's classification can genuinely change without any change on your end.
The common cases
- A reclassification: new signals moved the domain to a different category your rules treat differently. The most common cause by far.
- A subdomain split: "platform.example.com" hosts something different from "example.com" — rules may treat them differently.
- A CDN or shared host: sites behind large hosts sometimes share infrastructure with entirely different content, and classification follows the specific paths.
What to do about it
If a site your family needs turned blocked, check the activity log entry to see which category triggered it, then either submit an allow rule for that specific domain or contact support if the classification looks wrong — we review reports and correct categories. If a previously blocked site is now reachable and that's a problem, the reverse works too: a per-site block entry pins it regardless of category.
The takeaway
Category rules are maintained on your behalf and improve over time; custom per-site rules are yours and never change unless you change them.