Piracy Shield Help

Protect your intellectual property with automated scanning and DMCA takedown notices.

Overview Scanning Detections DMCA Notices Workflow

Running Scans

Scans search Google for pirated copies of your books on known piracy domains. Each scan searches for your book title combined with your pen name.

Starting a Manual Scan

  1. Navigate to Piracy Shield from the main menu
  2. Click the New Scan button
  3. Select a published novel from the dropdown
  4. Optionally select which sources to scan (default: all enabled)
  5. Click Start Scan

Scans run in the background and typically complete within 30-60 seconds. You'll see results appear on the dashboard when done.

Automatic Scanning

Enable auto-scanning for hands-off monitoring:

  1. Go to Piracy Shield → Settings
  2. Enable Auto-scan Published Novels
  3. Set your Scan Frequency (7, 14, 30, or 60 days)
  4. Published novels will be scanned automatically on schedule

What Scans Search For

Each scan generates multiple search queries:

  • "{Book Title}" - Exact title match
  • "{Book Title} {Pen Name}" - Title with author name
  • "{Pen Name} epub pdf" - Author + common piracy file types

Searches are limited to known piracy domains like Z-Library, LibGen, and similar sites.

Pro Tip

Make sure your Pen Name is set in Settings - it significantly improves scan accuracy by matching the name on your book covers.

Scan Status Reference

Status Meaning
Pending Scan is queued and will start shortly
Running Scan is actively searching Google
Completed Scan finished - check detections for results
Failed Scan encountered an error - check error message

Troubleshooting

Scan Failed - "Daily limit reached"

You've used your daily scan quota. Standard tier allows 2 scans per day. Wait until midnight UTC or upgrade to Professional for unlimited scans.

Scan Completed with 0 Detections

This is good news - no pirated copies were found! This could also mean:

  • The book is new and hasn't been pirated yet
  • Previous DMCA notices successfully removed listings
  • Piracy sites may use different title variations

Scan Shows "Budget Exhausted"

The API search budget was used up before completing all queries. The scan still ran, but may have incomplete results. Try again tomorrow.

Overview