Scans and verdicts
A scan checks a channel's recent posts against one of your brand profiles and gives a verdict, with links to the posts that led to it. This page explains which channels can be scanned, what each verdict means, and what a scan costs.
Every plan can scan. Each plan includes a number of scans a month; any scan beyond them is paid per scan.
Which channels can be scanned
Only channels that are listed in Paid Promotions or connected to Onflow Ads can be scanned. Shield does not scan a channel just because you name it. For a public channel Shield reads its recent posts; for a private connected channel, recent posts cannot be read after the fact, so the verdict is Unknown and says why.
Run a scan
- On the Brand Safety page, go to Scan a channel. Under Channel, enter the channel's Onflow code (it is on the channel's marketplace page; a @username is not accepted), and under Profile pick one of your profiles. Opening a scan from the marketplace fills the channel in.
- Press Get price. The quote says when the scan uses one of your plan's scans; otherwise it shows the price, how much is Paid with Onflow Credit and how much is Paid from your wallet, and your Plan scans left this month.
- Press Run the scan. Most scans finish within a minute or two; the verdict appears under Your scans.
Plus plan · Advertiser — pricing a scan once the plan's scans are used The plan's scans for this month are used up, so this scan is paid. 1 Paid with Onflow Credit. 2 Paid from your wallet. 3 Run the scan.
The four verdicts
| Verdict | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pass | Nothing in the posts checked matched your profile. A pass covers those posts only, not what the channel posts next. |
| Warning | Something may match, and you should look at the linked posts. |
| Fail | Recent posts match your profile. The categories that matched are listed. |
| Unknown | Shield could not read enough recent posts to decide. The verdict says why. |
Every verdict lists the categories that matched and links to the posts on Telegram. Shield never stores copies of those posts; if a post is deleted, its link stops working.
Plus plan · Advertiser — a scan that failed, with its evidence 1 The verdict. 2 A link to a post on Telegram behind a matched category.
A recent scan is reused
Every result is saved: a scan result is kept for 24 hours. Scanning the same channel against the same profile again inside that time offers the saved result, marked Reused at no charge until a time, and costs nothing.
What a scan costs
Scans included in your plan are used first: Lite and above include a number of scans each calendar month (see Brand Safety Shield). Beyond them, a scan costs $1. Onflow Credit is used first and the rest comes from your wallet. A scan that fails to finish shows Failed — refunded: the money went back to where it was paid from, and an included scan is not counted.
If you disagree with a verdict
Shield is automated and can be wrong. You can appeal a verdict with Appeal this on the scan, and a person will review it. See Live watch and pauses for how appeals work.