What kind of problem?
I'm a paid Starter subscriber (subscribed today), using the FreeBuff desktop app on Windows. Since today, every time I open the app I get this error:
This account has reduced capacity: it was flagged for VPN or proxy usage, a restricted location, or an email domain commonly used by bot farms. If you are on a VPN, connecting directly restores normal limits. Anything already running keeps going. Come back in 13h 26m — your free usage resets automatically at midnight Pacific.
I do not have any VPN or proxy software actively running on my machine. I do use Watt Toolkit to accelerate GitHub and some overseas captcha platforms, but:
- Watt Toolkit has been fully exited (confirmed in both system tray and Task Manager)
- Windows system proxy settings are disabled
- I've already flushed DNS and restarted my computer
Despite being a paid subscriber, my account is still being treated as a free-tier user with reduced capacity, and I'm forced to wait for the Pacific midnight reset.
Expected behavior
As a paying Starter subscriber, I expect my account to either:
- Not be subject to the same proxy/VPN detection limits as free users, or
- Have the restriction removed promptly after the proxy tool is closed, rather than being locked out for hours
Environment
- OS: Windows 11
- Client: FreeBuff Desktop App
- Plan: Starter (paid)
- Region: China
Additional context
I only used Watt Toolkit for GitHub acceleration — I never routed FreeBuff traffic through any proxy. The detection system appears to have flagged my system-level proxy setting (which was temporarily enabled by Watt Toolkit) and has not cleared the flag even after I completely shut it down.
Update: After I posted this issue, the restriction temporarily disappeared for a short time, but then came back again without me changing any settings. No proxy was active during that window, and I didn't restart the app or switch networks — it just worked briefly and then reverted to the same error. This makes me suspect the flag is on my account itself, not just my IP or network.
This feels like a false positive on the server-side detection. As a paid user, I'd really appreciate it if someone could look into this, or at least confirm whether this is expected behavior for Starter subscribers.
Thank you for your time.
What kind of problem?
I'm a paid Starter subscriber (subscribed today), using the FreeBuff desktop app on Windows. Since today, every time I open the app I get this error:
This account has reduced capacity: it was flagged for VPN or proxy usage, a restricted location, or an email domain commonly used by bot farms. If you are on a VPN, connecting directly restores normal limits. Anything already running keeps going. Come back in 13h 26m — your free usage resets automatically at midnight Pacific.
I do not have any VPN or proxy software actively running on my machine. I do use Watt Toolkit to accelerate GitHub and some overseas captcha platforms, but:
Despite being a paid subscriber, my account is still being treated as a free-tier user with reduced capacity, and I'm forced to wait for the Pacific midnight reset.
Expected behavior
As a paying Starter subscriber, I expect my account to either:
Environment
Additional context
I only used Watt Toolkit for GitHub acceleration — I never routed FreeBuff traffic through any proxy. The detection system appears to have flagged my system-level proxy setting (which was temporarily enabled by Watt Toolkit) and has not cleared the flag even after I completely shut it down.
Update: After I posted this issue, the restriction temporarily disappeared for a short time, but then came back again without me changing any settings. No proxy was active during that window, and I didn't restart the app or switch networks — it just worked briefly and then reverted to the same error. This makes me suspect the flag is on my account itself, not just my IP or network.
This feels like a false positive on the server-side detection. As a paid user, I'd really appreciate it if someone could look into this, or at least confirm whether this is expected behavior for Starter subscribers.
Thank you for your time.