Is sidehunt.io safe?
http://sidehunt.io/
Checked on
How we checked
Coverage: strong · 5 of 6 applicable core capabilities
- Antivirus (58 of 93 engines answered) · saved result: did not fully complete
- Google Safe Browsing: completed
- page reading: completed
- page capture: completed
- domain records: completed
- web research: completed
Sidehunt is a paid product-launch directory with a disclosed operator and a narrow refund policy, not a detected scam.
Sidehunt presents itself as a weekly launch competition for side projects and indie products, where makers can submit a product and pay for different tiers of visibility. The site names its operator through a linked social account, publishes a contact address on its own domain, and sets out a refund policy with a defined request process. Technical checks found no active threat: Safe Browsing returned no warning and the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection. The main caution is commercial rather than malicious: payment is described as non-refundable except in specific circumstances, and the site cross-links to a set of partner launch platforms and marketing services. The domain is about seven months old, so the operator's long-term track record is not yet established. On this evidence the site sits in the low-risk band rather than Safe.
Loading saved screenshot
Preparing the saved page preview.
Where this site sits
- Dangerous1–20
- High Risk21–44
- Moderate Risk45–69
- Low Risk70–84
- Safe85–100
The score combines saved evidence strength and analysis quality. Coverage is reported separately.
Why 78/100
Low Risk covers scores 70–84. 2 findings pulled the score down; 2 pushed it up.
What pulled the score down
- ModerateThe terms state payment is non-refundable except under specific circumstances, with a defined refund request process.
- Moderate1 antivirus result marked the URL as suspicious. This comes from a saved antivirus observation rather than a new submission, so treat the detection as real but confirm the timing.
What pushed the score up
- SupportsThe site links to a named operator's social account and publishes a contact address on its own domain.
- SupportsSafe Browsing returned no threat warning and the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection.
No points per finding are stored for this report: our analysis weighed all findings together to set the score. Each finding shows its saved severity instead (Decisive, Strong, Moderate or Minor). Community reviews never change the Safety Score.
01 · Investigation Brief
Investigation Brief
Sidehunt presents itself as a weekly launch competition for side projects and indie products, where makers can submit a product and pay for different tiers of visibility. The site names its operator through a linked social account, publishes a contact address on its own domain, and sets out a refund policy with a defined request process. Technical checks found no active threat: Safe Browsing returned no warning and the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection. The main caution is commercial rather than malicious: payment is described as non-refundable except in specific circumstances, and the site cross-links to a set of partner launch platforms and marketing services. The domain is about seven months old, so the operator's long-term track record is not yet established. On this evidence the site sits in the low-risk band rather than Safe.
A paid launch directory with a named operator
The page describes itself as the weekly hunt for a side project, and the site is built around product submissions and launch listings. Pricing is a first-class part of the navigation, with free and paid tiers shown alongside each other, so the commercial model is a transaction for placement rather than a free community board.
The operator is not anonymous in the ordinary sense: the contact page links to a named social account, and the site publishes a contact address on its own domain. That gives a visitor a real channel to raise a problem, which is a meaningful difference from a storefront with no reachable owner.
Payment terms and the cross-linked partner network
The terms state plainly that payment is non-refundable except under the specific circumstances set out in the refund policy. The refund policy itself is published and describes a request process: contact the site with payment details and a reason, and expect a response within a stated window. This is a restrictive but disclosed arrangement, not a hidden charge, and it is the main thing a buyer should read before paying.
The site also links out to a set of partner launch platforms and marketing services, including named directories and promotion tools. These are cross-site links to other businesses rather than a hidden redirect chain, and they are presented as a partner network. A visitor following them leaves Sidehunt and lands on a third party with its own terms, so the usual caution applies once you click away.
No active technical threat, but a short track record
The saved checks found no active security problem: Safe Browsing returned no threat warning and the TLS check found a valid encrypted connection. One saved antivirus observation marked the URL as suspicious, but that result is stale and isolated, so it is context rather than a current finding against the site.
The registrable domain is about seven months old. That is not evidence of wrongdoing by itself, but it does mean the operator has not yet built the kind of multi-year public record that would justify treating the site as established. Combined with the non-refundable payment terms, it argues for caution rather than alarm.
Why the score is 78
The saved checks found no material threat, but the evidence was not strong enough for the highest Safe tier. Coverage remains separate so missing sources cannot be mistaken for clean results.
02 · Security Evidence
Security evidence
Antivirus Engines
1/ 93
detectionsSaved analysis from October 24, 2026 - stale
1 engine flagged this URL
Every saved adverse engine is listed below. The full provider matrix remains available for audit.
- Malicious
- 0
- Suspicious
- 1
- Total
- 93
| Engine | Finding |
|---|---|
| GridinsoftSuspicious | suspicious |
All 93 engine results
- Gridinsoft - Suspicious
- 0xSI_f33d - Unrated
- Abusix - Clean
- Acronis - Clean
- ADMINUSLabs - Clean
- AILabs (MONITORAPP) - Clean
- AlienVault - Clean
- alphaMountain.ai - Unrated
- AlphaSOC - Unrated
- Antiy-AVL - Clean
- ArcSight Threat Intelligence - Unrated
- AutoShun - Unrated
- Bfore.Ai PreCrime - Unrated
- BitDefender - Clean
- Bkav - Unrated
- BlockList - Clean
- Blueliv - Clean
- Certego - Clean
- ChainPatrol - Unrated
- Chong Lua Dao - Clean
- CINS Army - Clean
- CRDF - Clean
- Criminal IP - Unrated
- CSIS Security Group - Unrated
- CTX AI - Clean
- Cyan - Unrated
- Cyble - Clean
- CyRadar - Clean
- desenmascara.me - Clean
- DNS8 - Unrated
- Dr.Web - Clean
- EmergingThreats - Clean
- Emsisoft - Clean
- Ermes - Unrated
- ESET - Clean
- ESTsecurity - Clean
- Forcepoint ThreatSeeker - Unrated
- Fortinet - Clean
- Fortra - Unrated
- G-Data - Clean
- GCP Abuse Intelligence - Unrated
- Google Safe Browsing - Clean
- GreenSnow - Clean
- GreyNoise - Unrated
- Guardpot - Unrated
- Heimdal Security - Clean
- Hunt.io Intelligence - Unrated
- IPsum - Clean
- Juniper Networks - Clean
- K7AntiVirus - Unrated
- Kaspersky - Clean
- LevelBlue - Clean
- Lionic - Clean
- Lumu - Unrated
- Malwared - Clean
- MalwarePatrol - Clean
- MalwareURL - Unrated
- Mimecast - Unrated
- Netcraft - Unrated
- OpenPhish - Clean
- Orcapot - Unrated
- PhishFort - Unrated
- Phishing Database - Clean
- Phishtank - Clean
- PREBYTES - Clean
- PrecisionSec - Unrated
- Quick Heal - Clean
- Quttera - Clean
- Rising - Clean
- SafeToOpen - Unrated
- Sangfor - Clean
- Sansec eComscan - Unrated
- Scantitan - Clean
- SCUMWARE.org - Clean
- Seclookup - Clean
- Snort IP sample list - Unrated
- SOCRadar - Unrated
- Sophos - Clean
- StopForumSpam - Clean
- Sucuri SiteCheck - Clean
- Synthient - Unrated
- ThreatHive - Clean
- URLhaus - Clean
- URLQuery - Unrated
- Viettel Threat Intelligence - Clean
- VIPRE - Unrated
- ViriBack - Clean
- VX Vault - Clean
- Webroot - Clean
- Xcitium Verdict Cloud - Clean
- Yandex Safebrowsing - Clean
- ZeroCERT - Clean
- ZeroFox - Unrated
How security vendors categorise this site
- BitDefendermisc
- Googletechnology
Each vendor’s own label for the site, saved with the antivirus result. Labels are separate from the engine verdicts above and can disagree with each other.
Security Scans
Checked against the browser threat feeds available to this scan — no hit.
What we observed
Loading saved screenshot
Preparing the saved page preview.
Visual context from the captured page
The weekly hunt for your side project
What the captured page showed
1 observation- 01
The weekly hunt for your side project
What the page says about itself
What the site says about itself, quoted from the pages we read. The site wrote these words; they are not our findings.
- Page title
Weekly hunt for side projects & indie launches | Sidehunt
- Meta description
Sidehunt is a weekly launch platform for side projects and indie products—submit yours, collect votes, earn backlinks, and reach early adopters. A focused alternative to Product Hunt for makers shipping every week.
Pages we read
- Main page/Read
- Terms/termsRead
- Contact page/contactRead
- Pricing/pricingRead
03 · Investigation Story
Investigation story
What the site claims
Weekly hunt for side projects & indie launches | Sidehunt
What we observed
The page content was captured and checked alongside 58 antivirus results.
What independent research found
The search completed without a material external warning or corroborating report.
What remains unverified
1 of the 6 applicable core capabilities did not complete, so those gaps remain visible in the coverage ledger.
What kind of site and risk is this?
Threat category
No threat category confirmed
Service and business model
Shop
Observed behavior
Evidence behind this classification
- 01The terms state payment is non-refundable except under specific circumstances, with a defined refund request process.
- 02The site links to a named operator's social account and publishes a contact address on its own domain.
- 03Safe Browsing returned no threat warning and the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection.
Web research findings
Independent findings for sidehunt.io, including public complaints, named review sources, registration records, and look-alike-domain evidence. A missing result is shown as unverified, never converted into a clean bill of health.
No independently sourced scam reports or credibility records were found for sidehunt.io. That is common for new or low-traffic sites and does not clear the site.
Reputation Sources
How this domain rates across independent threat-intelligence and blocklist providers.
04 · Domain & Infrastructure
Domain & infrastructure
The plumbing behind the site — who registered it, how it’s encrypted, where it’s hosted, and where it links out. A valid certificate or a calm server doesn’t mean the business is honest — scam sites pass these checks too. Use this to corroborate the verdict, not to overturn it.
Infrastructure map
How the saved page connected to the wider web.
- Domainsidehunt.io
- Redirects tosidehunt.io
- Hosted byHostinger Operations UAB
- Referencestxmhk1zrnc.ufs.sh · google.com
Domain Timeline
- Apr 3, 2026Domain registered
First appeared in WHOIS records — 7 months old when this review was saved.
- Nov 2, 2026Saved security review — Rated Low Risk
This saved scan found no material threat, but the evidence was not strong enough for the highest Safe tier.
Contact Verification
Saved contact details can help identify the operator. Their presence supports traceability; it does not prove the business is trustworthy.
- Contact email on the site's own domain (hi@sidehunt.io).
Domain & Encryption
Certificate issued for sidehunt.io.
Payment providers the page loads
None seen among the outside domains we saved.
Read from the first 20 outside domains the page loads and the shop platform it uses; the web server and platform rows are under Hosting & Technology. A payment script on the page does not prove the shop accepts that method at checkout, or that you are protected.
Redirect Chain
- 1302http://sidehunt.io/
- 2200https://sidehunt.io/
Server Reputation
Referenced Domains
Outbound domains this page links to or loads resources from. Each links to its own security scan.
05 · Evidence Ledger
Evidence ledger
- Antiviruspartial
- Browser threat feedcomplete
- Page contentcomplete
- Analysiscomplete
- Visual evidencecomplete
The conclusion is supported by the evidence saved with this report.
Technical threat
unknownMalware, phishing, credential theft and hostile infrastructure.
1 antivirus result marked the URL as suspicious. This comes from a saved antivirus observation rather than a new submission, so treat the detection as real but confirm the timing.
Operator / customer risk
suspiciousComplaints, withdrawals, business conduct and commercial traps.
The terms state payment is non-refundable except under specific circumstances, with a defined refund request process.
Source coverage and freshness
Status shows whether usable evidence was saved; finding shows what that evidence observed.
| Source | Result | Completion | Finding | Freshness |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antivirus | 1 of 93 engines flagged | Limited | Adverse | stale fallback · analysed Oct 24, 2026 |
| Browser protection | No browser threat-list match | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Nov 2, 2026 |
| Page content | Page fetched · HTTP 200 | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Nov 2, 2026 |
| Visual evidence | 1 visible observation saved with the page capture | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Nov 2, 2026 |
| Independent research | The search completed without a material external finding | Completed | No adverse finding | this scan · Nov 2, 2026 |
- Antivirus
- Result1 of 93 engines flagged
- CompletionLimitedFindingAdverse
- Freshnessstale fallback · analysed Oct 24, 2026
- Browser protection
- ResultNo browser threat-list match
- CompletionCompletedFindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Nov 2, 2026
- Page content
- ResultPage fetched · HTTP 200
- CompletionCompletedFindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Nov 2, 2026
- Visual evidence
- Result1 visible observation saved with the page capture
- CompletionCompletedFindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Nov 2, 2026
- Independent research
- ResultThe search completed without a material external finding
- CompletionCompletedFindingNo adverse finding
- Freshnessthis scan · Nov 2, 2026
07 · Safety FAQ
Safety FAQ
Common questions, answered directly from the scan data above — so the answers reflect the saved verdict and evidence in this report.
Is sidehunt.io a scam or is it safe?
Is sidehunt.io safe to use?
Has sidehunt.io been flagged by antivirus engines?
Is sidehunt.io on any phishing or malware blacklists?
How old is the sidehunt.io domain?
Does sidehunt.io have a valid SSL certificate?
Where is sidehunt.io hosted?
How often is the sidehunt.io report updated?
08 · Final Verdict
Final verdict
Sidehunt is a paid product-launch directory with a disclosed operator and a narrow refund policy, not a detected scam.
Sidehunt presents itself as a weekly launch competition for side projects and indie products, where makers can submit a product and pay for different tiers of visibility. The site names its operator through a linked social account, publishes a contact address on its own domain, and sets out a refund policy with a defined request process. Technical checks found no active threat: Safe Browsing returned no warning and the saved TLS check found a valid encrypted connection. The main caution is commercial rather than malicious: payment is described as non-refundable except in specific circumstances, and the site cross-links to a set of partner launch platforms and marketing services. The domain is about seven months old, so the operator's long-term track record is not yet established. On this evidence the site sits in the low-risk band rather than Safe.
09 · Community
Community
Are you the owner of sidehunt.io?Verify and reply