Restricted Work

Synonyms:	archive-locked, login-locked, login-restricted, TODO
See also:	Anonymous AO3 Collections, Mystery Work
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This article is about login-restricted works on AO3. You may be looking for the MPAA "R" rating (see Ratings) or the Harry Potter fanfic archive (see Restricted Section).

The term restricted work (also referred to as "archive-locked work" or "login-locked work") refers to a fanwork on AO3 that has been set by the creator to only be accessible by logged in accounts. As the AO3 Accessing Fanworks FAQ states: "Creators have the option to restrict access to a work to registered users only. Works that have been restricted won't show up in searches if you're not logged in to your account."

See more discussion at Archive of Our Own#Notable Features.

Many other websites restrict some or all content to users who are logged in, but this page focuses on the setting on AO3 and it's usage over time within fandom.

How a work in an unrevealed collection appears on AO3.

History and Usage

Increasing over time???? I know people have discussed this a lot. TODO FIND META & LINK.

Maybe some of these??

• https://www.reddit.com/r/AO3/comments/14uukih/how_many_of_you_locked_your_works_because_of_bots/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/AO3/comments/1amwew5/how_many_of_you_set_your_work_to_be_accessible/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/FanFiction/comments/xeaf9g/why_are_some_ao3_works_restricted_and_should_i/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/FanFiction/comments/za87yn/how_many_fics_are_archive_locked/

Pretty sure I've seen discussion on tumblr, too. was destinationtoast or someone investigating this?

See also

• AO3 Ship Stats 2023 controversy over how/whether to account for old works being archived-locked during the year -- see AO3 Ship Stats: Year in Bad Data. Discussion continued in 2024.
• Formula 1 RPF#Trends in Locking and Deleting Fanworks