Wayback Machine: Difference between revisions

{{About||the time machine from Peabody's Improbable History|Wayback Machine (Peabody's Improbable History)|help citing the Wayback Machine in the English Bharatpedia|:Help:Using the Wayback Machine|and|selfref=yes}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2022}}

| url = {{Official URL}}

| programming_language = [[HTML (markup language)|HTML]], [[Cascading Style Sheets|CSS]], [[JavaScript (programming language)|JavaScript]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]], [[Python (programming language)|Python]].

| area_served = Worldwide ([[Internet censorship in China|except China]], [[Internet censorship in Russia|Russia]], [[Internet censorship in India|India]], and [[Internet censorship in Bahrain|Bahrain]])

| founded = {{ubl|{{start date and age|1996|05|10}} (private)|{{start date and age|2001|10|24}} (public)}}

The '''Wayback Machine''' is a [[Web archiving|digital archive]] of the [[World Wide Web]] founded by the [[Internet Archive]], a nonprofit based in [[San Francisco, California]]. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" to see how websites looked in the past. Its founders, [[Brewster Kahle]] and [[Bruce Gilliat]], developed the Wayback Machine to provide "universal access to all knowledge" by preserving archived copies of defunct web pages.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kahle |first=Brewster |date=2005-11-23 |title=Universal Access to all Knowledge |url=https://archive.org/details/SDForumBK |archive-date=2022-08-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220814164546/https://archive.org/details/SDForumBK |access-date=2022-06-05 |website=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

Launched on May 10, 1996, the Wayback Machine had saved more than 38.2 billion web pages at the end of 2009. {{As of|2023|8|20}}, the Wayback Machine has archived 832 billion web pages.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Internet Archive: Wayback Machine |url=https://web.archive.org/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230313021854/https://archive.org/web/ |archive-date=2023-03-13 |access-date= |website=web.archive.org}} The current number of archived pages can be seen at the archive's [https://web.archive.org/ home page].</ref>

The Wayback Machine began archiving [[Cache (computing)|cached]] web pages in 1996. One of the earliest known pages was archived on May 10, 1996, at <time>2:08{{nbs}}p.m.</time> ([[UTC]]).<ref>{{cite web<!-- NOTE: reference and work is to the Wayback snapshot -->|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19960510140808/http://www.pepsico.com/|url=http://www.pepsico.com/|title=PepsiCo Home Page|work=[[Internet Archive]]/Wayback Machine|author=[[PepsiCo]], Inc.|date=1996-05-10|archive-date=1996-05-10|access-date=2022-10-08}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

[[Internet Archive]] founders [[Brewster Kahle]] and [[Bruce Gilliat]] launched the Wayback Machine in [[San Francisco]], [[California]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wayback Machine General Information  |url=https://help.archive.org/hc/en-us/articles/360004716091-Wayback-Machine-General-Information |access-date=March 2, 2021 |website=archive.org |archive-url=https://archive.today/20191205053755/https://help.archive.org/hc/en-us/articles/360004716091-Wayback-Machine-General-Information |archive-date=December 5, 2019}}</ref> in October 2001,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://whois.domaintools.com/waybackmachine.org |title=WayBackMachine.org WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools |work=[[WHOIS]] |access-date=March 13, 2016 |archive-date=May 14, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200514175402/http://whois.domaintools.com/waybackmachine.org |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://whois.domaintools.com/internetarchive.org|title=InternetArchive.org WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info – DomainTools|work=[[WHOIS]]|access-date=March 13, 2016|archive-date=May 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200512114745/http://whois.domaintools.com/internetarchive.org|url-status=live}}</ref> primarily to address the problem of web content vanishing whenever it gets changed or when a website is shut down.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Notess |first=Greg R. |date=March–April 2002 |title=The Wayback Machine: The Web's Archive |journal=Online |volume=26 |pages=59–61 |id={{INIST|13517724}} }}</ref> The service enables users to see archived versions of [[web page]]s across time, which the archive calls a "three-dimensional index".<ref name="FAQ">{{citation |title=Frequently Asked Questions|chapter-url=https://archive.org/about/faqs.php#The_Wayback_Machine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918131957/https://archive.org/about/faqs.php#The_Wayback_Machine |url-status=live |chapter=The Wayback Machine |access-date=September 18, 2018 |archive-date=September 18, 2018}}</ref> Kahle and Gilliat created the machine hoping to archive the entire Internet and provide "universal access to all knowledge".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://blog.archive.org/2016/10/25/20000-hard-drives-on-a-mission/ |title=20,000 Hard Drives on a Mission {{!}} Internet Archive Blogs |website=blog.archive.org |date=October 25, 2016 |access-date=October 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020153727/https://blog.archive.org/2016/10/25/20000-hard-drives-on-a-mission/ |archive-date=October 20, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> The name "Wayback Machine" is a reference to a fictional time-traveling and translation device, the "[[Wayback Machine (Peabody's Improbable History)|Wayback Machine]]", used by the characters [[Mister Peabody]] and Sherman in the animated cartoon ''[[The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2002/tc20020228_1080.htm |title=A Library as Big as the World |last=Green |first=Heather |date=February 28, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220074306/http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2002/tc20020228_1080.htm |archive-date=December 20, 2011 |magazine=BusinessWeek}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/08/business/responsible-party-brewster-kahle-a-library-of-the-web-on-the-web.html |title=Responsible Party – Brewster Kahle; A Library Of the Web, On the Web |last=Tong |first=Judy |date=September 8, 2002 |work=The New York Times |access-date= August 15, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110220181725/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/08/business/responsible-party-brewster-kahle-a-library-of-the-web-on-the-web.html |archive-date=February 20, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> In one of the cartoon's segments, "Peabody's Improbable History", the characters used the machine to witness, participate in, and often alter famous events in history.

From 1996 to 2001, the information was kept on digital tape, with Kahle occasionally allowing researchers and scientists to tap into the "clunky" [[database]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cook |first=John |title=Web site takes you way back in Internet history |url=http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Web-site-takes-you-way-back-in-Internet-history-1070534.php |access-date=August 15, 2011 |work=Seattle Post-Intelligencer |date=November 1, 2001 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812205508/http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Web-site-takes-you-way-back-in-Internet-history-1070534.php |archive-date=August 12, 2014}}</ref> When the archive reached its fifth anniversary in 2001, it was unveiled and opened to the public in a ceremony at the [[University of California, Berkeley]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2001/10/wayback-goes-way-back-on-web/ |title=Wayback Goes Way Back on Web |magazine=Wired |date=October 28, 2001 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171016225914/https://www.wired.com/2001/10/wayback-goes-way-back-on-web/ |archive-date=October 16, 2017 |last1=Mayfield |first1=Kendra }}</ref> By the time the Wayback Machine launched, it already contained over 10 billion archived pages.<ref name="Arora (2015)" /> The data is stored on the Internet Archive's large cluster of [[Linux]] nodes.<ref name=":0" /> It revisits and archives new versions of websites on occasion (see technical details below).<ref name="leetaru" /> Sites can also be captured manually by entering a website's [[URL]] into the search box, provided that the website allows the Wayback Machine to "[[Web crawler|crawl]]" it and save the data.<ref name="IA: Wayback">{{Cite web |url=https://archive.org/web/ |title=Internet Archive: Wayback Machine |website=archive.org |access-date=October 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140103004344/https://archive.org/web/ |archive-date=January 3, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2021, for Internet Archive's 25th anniversary, the Wayback Machine introduced the "Wayforward Machine" which allows users to "travel to the Internet in 2046, where knowledge is under [[siege]]".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Internet Archive 25th Anniversary – Universal Access to All Knowledge|url=https://anniversary.archive.org/|access-date=January 13, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Wayforward Machine • Visit the future of the internet|url=https://wayforward.archive.org/|access-date=January 13, 2022|website=Way Forward Machine}}</ref>

== Technical information ==

The Wayback Machine's software has been developed to "[[Web crawler|crawl]]" the Web and download all publicly accessible information and data files on webpages, the [[Gopher (protocol)|Gopher]] hierarchy, the [[Usenet|Netnews]] (Usenet) bulletin board system, and downloadable software.<ref name=ArchivingInternet>{{cite web |last=Kahle |first=Brewster |title=Archiving the Internet |url=http://www.uibk.ac.at/voeb/texte/kahle.html |publisher=Scientific American – March 1997 Issue |access-date=August 19, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120403042627/http://www.uibk.ac.at/voeb/texte/kahle.html |archive-date=April 3, 2012}}</ref> The information collected by these "crawlers" does not include all the information available on the Internet, since much of the data is restricted by the publisher or stored in databases that are not accessible. To overcome inconsistencies in partially cached websites, Archive-It.org was developed in 2005 by the Internet Archive as a means of allowing institutions and content creators to voluntarily harvest and preserve collections of digital content, and create digital archives.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://blog.archive.org/2014/10/27/archive-it-crawling-the-web-together/ |title=Archive-It: Crawling the Web Together |work=Internet Archive Blogs |first=Jeff |last=Kaplan |date=October 27, 2014 |access-date=October 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012212827/http://blog.archive.org/2014/10/27/archive-it-crawling-the-web-together/ |archive-date=October 12, 2017 }}</ref>

Crawls are contributed from various sources, some imported from third parties and others generated internally by the Archive.<ref name=leetaru/> For example, crawls are contributed by the [[Sloan Foundation]] and [[Alexa Internet|Alexa]], crawls run by Internet Archive on behalf of [[National Archives and Records Administration|NARA]] and the [[Internet Memory Foundation]], mirrors of [[Common Crawl]].<ref name=leetaru/> The "Worldwide Web Crawls" have been running since 2010 and capture the global Web.<ref name=leetaru/><ref name=":3">{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/widecrawl&tab=about |title=Worldwide Web Crawls |publisher=Internet Archive |access-date=October 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019222740/https://archive.org/details/widecrawl%26tab%3Dabout |archive-date=October 19, 2017 }}</ref>

Documents and resources are stored with time stamp URLs such as <code>{{#time:YmdHis}}</code>. Pages' individual resources such as images and style sheets and scripts, as well as outgoing hyperlinks, are linked to with the time stamp of the currently viewed page, so they are redirected automatically to their individual captures that are the closest in time.<ref name="using">{{cite web |url=https://help.archive.org/help/using-the-wayback-machine/ |title=Using The Wayback Machine |website=Internet Archive |access-date=April 3, 2022}}</ref>

Starting in October 2019, users are [[data cap|limited]] to 15 archival requests and retrievals per minute.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/toomanyrequests_20191110 |title=Too Many Requests |publisher=Internet Archive |date=November 10, 2019 |access-date=November 27, 2021}}</ref>{{why|date=October 2019}}

As technology has developed over the years, the storage capacity of the Wayback Machine has grown. In 2003, after only two years of public access, the Wayback Machine was growing at a rate of 12 terabytes per month. The data is stored on [[PetaBox]] rack systems custom designed by Internet Archive staff. The first 100TB rack became fully operational in June 2004, although it soon became clear that they would need much more storage than that.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/web/petabox.php |title=Internet Archive: Petabox |website=archive.org |access-date=October 25, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-5808754.html |title=Big storage on the cheap |last=Kanellos |first=Michael |date=July 29, 2005 |access-date=July 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070403030705/http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-5808754.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=April 3, 2007 |publisher=CNET News.com}}</ref>

A new, improved version of the Wayback Machine, with an updated interface and a fresher index of archived content, was made available for public testing in 2011, where captures appear in a calendar layout with circles whose width visualizes the number of crawls each day, but no marking of duplicates with asterisks or an advanced search page.<ref name=WordpressArchive>{{cite web |title=Updated Wayback Machine in Beta Testing |url=http://iawebarchiving.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/updated-wayback-machine-in-beta-testing/ |access-date=August 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823040310/http://iawebarchiving.wordpress.com/2011/01/24/updated-wayback-machine-in-beta-testing/ |archive-date=August 23, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Advanced Search |url=https://web.archive.org/collections/web/advanced.html |website=Wayback Machine |access-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100131104918/https://web.archive.org/collections/web/advanced.html |archive-date=January 31, 2010}}</ref> A top [[toolbar]] was added to facilitate navigating between captures. A bar chart visualizes the frequency of captures per month over the years.<ref>{{cite web |title=What's the difference between the classic Wayback Machine and the new Beta version? |url=http://faq.waybackmachine.org/whats-the-difference-between-the-classic-wayback-machine-and-the-new-beta-version |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225023945/http://faq.waybackmachine.org/whats-the-difference-between-the-classic-wayback-machine-and-the-new-beta-version |access-date=November 17, 2021 |archive-date=December 25, 2010 }}</ref> Features like "Changes", "Summary", and a graphical site map were added subsequently.

In October 2013, the company introduced the "Save a Page" feature<ref name="ia-2013-10">{{cite web |url=https://blog.archive.org/2013/10/25/fixing-broken-links/ |title=Fixing Broken Links on the Internet |last=Rossi |first=Alexis |date=October 25, 2013 |website=archive.org |publisher=Collections Team, the Internet Archive |location=San Francisco, CA, US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141107193437/http://blog.archive.org/2013/10/25/fixing-broken-links/ |archive-date=November 7, 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=March 25, 2015 |quote=We have added the ability to archive a page instantly and get back a permanent URL for that page in the Wayback Machine. This service allows anyone – Bharatpedia editors, scholars, legal professionals, students, or home cooks like me – to create a stable URL to cite, share or bookmark any information they want to still have access to in the future.}}</ref><ref name=DigitalJournal>{{cite web |first=Alexander |last=Baron |title=((The new Internet Archive Wayback Machine now online)) |url=http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/360776 |website=Digital Journal |date=October 23, 2013 |access-date=November 19, 2020 |archive-date=November 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119071411/http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/360776}}</ref> which allows any Internet user to archive the contents of a URL, and quickly generates a [[permanent link]] unlike the preceding ''liveweb'' feature.

In September 2018, the Wayback Machine contained over 25 petabytes of data.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thehustle.co/inside-wayback-machine-internet-archive |title=Inside Wayback Machine, the internet's time capsule |last=Crockett |first=Zachary |date=September 28, 2018 |work=The Hustle |access-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181002145800/https://thehustle.co/inside-wayback-machine-internet-archive |archive-date=October 2, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/wired25-virginia-heffernan-internet-archive-wayback-machine/ |title=Things Break and Decay on the Internet—That's a Good Thing |last=Heffernan |first=Virginia |date=September 18, 2018 |magazine=WIRED |access-date=October 26, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925130510/https://www.wired.com/story/wired25-virginia-heffernan-internet-archive-wayback-machine/ |archive-date=September 25, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

| data_type = Pages Archived

| bar_width = 45

| data_max = 700000000000

| label1 = 2004

| data1 = 30000000000

| label2 = 2005

| data2 = 40000000000

| label3 = 2008

| data3 = 85000000000

| label4 = 2012

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| label5 = 2013

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|label7=2015|data7=452000000000|label8=2016|data8=459000000000|label9=2017|data9=279000000000|data10=310000000000|label10=2018|data11=345000000000|label11=2019|data12=405000000000|label12=2020|label13=2021|data13=514000000000|label14=2022|data14=640000000000|color1=lightblue|color2=lightblue|color3=lightblue|color4=yellow|color5=yellow|color6=yellow|color7=orange|color8=orange|color9=yellow|color10=yellow|color11=yellow|color12=yellow|color13=orange|color14=red|comment1=0-100B : Light blue|comment4=100B-450B : Yellow|comment7=450B-600B : Orange|comment14=600B- : Red}}

The Wayback Machine service offers three public APIs, SavePageNow, Availability, and CDX.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archive.org/help/wayback_api.php|title=Wayback Machine APIs &#124; Internet Archive|website=archive.org}}</ref> SavePageNow can be used to archive web pages. Availability API for checking the archive availability status for a web page,<ref>{{GitHub |akamhy/waybackpy}}</ref> checking whether an archive for the web page exists or not. CDX API is for complex querying, filtering, and analysis of captured data.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://blog.archive.org/developers/ | title=Developers | date=August 22, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://blog.archive.org/2018/12/13/documentation-for-public-apis-at-the-internet-archive/ | title=Documentation for Public APIs at the Internet Archive | date=December 13, 2018 }}</ref>

Historically, the Wayback Machine has respected the [[robots exclusion standard]] (robots.txt) in determining if a website would be crawled – or if already crawled, if its archives would be publicly viewable. Website owners had the option to opt-out of Wayback Machine through the use of robots.txt. It applied robots.txt rules retroactively; if a site blocked the Internet Archive, any previously archived pages from the domain were immediately rendered unavailable as well. In addition, the Internet Archive stated that "Sometimes, a website owner will contact us directly and ask us to stop crawling or archiving a site. We comply with these requests."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://web.archive.org/collections/web/faqs.html#exclusions |title=Some sites are not available because of Robots.txt or other exclusions|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415130934/https://web.archive.org/collections/web/faqs.html#exclusions |archive-date=April 15, 2011}}</ref> In addition, the website says: "The Internet Archive is not interested in preserving or offering access to Web sites or other internet documents of persons who do not want their materials in the collection."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archive.org/about/faqs.php#2 |title=Internet Archive Frequently Asked Questions|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140417122600/https://archive.org/about/faqs.php |archive-date=April 17, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nekzzq/wayback-machine-deleting-evidence-flexispy |title=The Wayback Machine Is Deleting Evidence of Malware Sold to Stalkers |last=Cox |first=Joseph |date=May 22, 2018 |access-date=May 23, 2018 |archive-url=https://archive.today/2018.05.22-192132/https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/nekzzq/wayback-machine-deleting-evidence-flexispy |archive-date=May 23, 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

On April 17, 2017, reports surfaced of sites that had gone defunct and became [[parked domain]]s that were using robots.txt to exclude themselves from search engines, resulting in them being inadvertently excluded from the Wayback Machine.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robots.txt meant for search engines don't work well for web archives |url=https://blog.archive.org/2017/04/17/robots-txt-meant-for-search-engines-dont-work-well-for-web-archives/ |website=Internet Archive |date=April 17, 2017 |access-date=June 29, 2019}}</ref> The Internet Archive changed the policy to now require an explicit exclusion request to remove it from the Wayback Machine.<ref name="using" />

The Wayback retroactive exclusion policy began to relax in 2017, when it stopped honoring robots on U.S. government and military web sites for both crawling and displaying web pages. As of April 2017, Wayback is ignoring robots.txt more broadly, not just for U.S. government websites.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.archive.org/2017/04/17/robots-txt-meant-for-search-engines-dont-work-well-for-web-archives/ |title=Robots.txt meant for search engines don't work well for web archives |work=Internet Archive Blogs |first=Mark |last=Graham |date=April 17, 2017 |access-date=April 16, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417131508/http://blog.archive.org/2017/04/17/robots-txt-meant-for-search-engines-dont-work-well-for-web-archives/ |archive-date=April 17, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Archivierung des Internets: Internet Archive ignoriert künftig robots.txt |date=April 25, 2017 |url=https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Archivierung-des-Internets-Internet-Archive-ignoriert-kuenftig-robots-txt-3693558.html |publisher=heise online |access-date=May 14, 2017 |language=de |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427035659/https://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/Archivierung-des-Internets-Internet-Archive-ignoriert-kuenftig-robots-txt-3693558.html |archive-date=April 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Suchmaschinen: Internet Archive will künftig Robots.txt-Einträge ignorieren – Golem.de |url=https://www.golem.de/news/suchmaschinen-internet-archive-will-kuenftig-robots-txt-eintraege-ignorieren-1704-127446.html |access-date=May 14, 2017 |language=de |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619210648/https://www.golem.de/news/suchmaschinen-internet-archive-will-kuenftig-robots-txt-eintraege-ignorieren-1704-127446.html |archive-date=June 19, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Internet Archive will ignore robots.txt files to keep historical record accurate |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/internet-archive-robots-txt/ |newspaper=Digital Trends |access-date=May 14, 2017 |date=April 24, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516130029/https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/internet-archive-robots-txt/ |archive-date=May 16, 2017}}</ref>

"Journalists use the Wayback Machine to view dead websites, dated news reports, and changes to website contents. Its content has been used to hold politicians accountable and expose battlefield lies."<ref name="usn1">{{cite web |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-17/wayback-machine-wont-censor-archive-for-taste-director-says-after-olympics-article-scrubbed |title=Wayback Machine Won't Censor Archive for Taste, Director Says After Olympics Article Scrubbed |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106151933/http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-08-17/wayback-machine-wont-censor-archive-for-taste-director-says-after-olympics-article-scrubbed |archive-date=January 6, 2017 |url-status=live |access-date=May 14, 2017}}</ref> In 2014, an archived social media page of [[Igor Girkin]], a separatist rebel leader in Ukraine, showed him boasting about his troops having shot down a suspected Ukrainian military airplane before it became known that the plane actually was a civilian Malaysian Airlines jet ([[Malaysia Airlines Flight 17]]), after which he deleted the post and blamed Ukraine's military for downing the plane.<ref name="usn1"/><ref name="NewYorker-2015-01-26">{{cite magazine |title=What the Web Said Yesterday |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/26/cobweb |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |access-date=May 14, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150125141230/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/26/cobweb |archive-date=January 25, 2015

}}</ref> In 2017, the [[March for Science]] originated from a discussion on [[Reddit]] that indicated someone had visited Archive.org and discovered that all references to [[climate change]] had been deleted from the White House website. In response, a user commented, "There needs to be a Scientists' March on Washington".<ref>{{cite news |title=The March for Science began with this person's 'throwaway line' on Reddit |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/21/the-march-for-science-began-with-this-persons-throwaway-line-on-reddit/ |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=April 23, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423081417/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/04/21/the-march-for-science-began-with-this-persons-throwaway-line-on-reddit/ |archive-date=April 23, 2017}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/24/are-scientists-going-to-march-on-washington/ |title=Are scientists going to march on Washington? |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=January 31, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131152535/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2017/01/24/are-scientists-going-to-march-on-washington/ |archive-date=January 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Foley |first1=Katherine Ellen |title=The global March for Science started with a single Reddit thread |url=https://qz.com/965485/the-global-march-for-science-started-with-a-single-reddit-thread/ |work=Quartz |access-date=April 23, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170424004314/https://qz.com/965485/the-global-march-for-science-started-with-a-single-reddit-thread/ |archive-date=April 24, 2017}}</ref>

Furthermore, the site is used heavily for verification, providing access to references and content creation by [[Bharatpedia community|Bharatpedia editors]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://blog.archive.org/2018/10/01/more-than-9-million-broken-links-on-wikipedia-are-now-rescued/|title=More than 9 million broken links on Wikipedia are now rescued|first=Mark|last=Graham|date=October 1, 2018}}</ref>

In 2014 there was a six-month lag time between when a website was crawled and when it became available for viewing in the Wayback Machine.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/about/faqs.php |title=Internet Archive Frequently Asked Questions |date=April 2, 2014 |website=Internet Archive |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402223358/https://archive.org/about/faqs.php |archive-date=April 2, 2014|url-status=dead|access-date=November 23, 2018}}</ref> Currently, the lag time is 3 to 10 hours.<ref name="using" /> The Wayback Machine offers only limited search facilities. Its "Site Search" feature allows users to find a site based on words describing the site, rather than words found on the web pages themselves.<ref name=":4" />

The Wayback Machine does not include every web page ever made due to the limitations of its web crawler. The Wayback Machine cannot completely archive web pages that contain interactive features such as Flash platforms and forms written in JavaScript and [[progressive web application]]s, because those functions require interaction with the host website. This means that, since approximately July 9, 2013, the Wayback Machine has been unable to display YouTube comments when saving videos' watch pages, as, according to the Archive Team, comments are no longer "loaded within the page itself."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archiveteam.org/index.php?title=YouTube#Comment_loading|website=archiveteam.org|title=YouTube - Archiveteam|access-date=August 6, 2020|archive-date=August 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805184742/https://www.archiveteam.org/index.php?title=YouTube#Comment_loading|url-status=live}}</ref> The Wayback Machine's web crawler has difficulty extracting anything not coded in HTML or one of its variants, which can often result in broken hyperlinks and missing images. Due to this, the web crawler cannot archive "orphan pages" that are not linked to by other pages.<ref name=":4">{{cite journal |last=Bates |first=Mary Ellen |date=2002 |title=The Wayback Machine |journal=Online |volume=26 |pages=80 }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/about/faqs.php |title=Internet Archive Frequently Asked Questions |website=archive.org |access-date=October 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420213122/https://archive.org/about/faqs.php |archive-date=April 20, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Wayback Machine's crawler only follows a predetermined number of hyperlinks based on a preset depth limit, so it cannot archive every hyperlink on every page.<ref name=":3" />

The [[United States patent office]] and the [[European Patent Office]] will accept date stamps from the Internet Archive as evidence of when a given Web page was accessible to the public. These dates are used to determine if a Web page is available as [[prior art]] for instance in examining a patent application.<ref>{{cite web |title=Prior Art in the Field of Business Method Patents – When is an Electronic Document a Printed Publication for Prior Art Purposes? |first=Wynn W. |last=Coggins |date=Fall 2002 |url=http://www.uspto.gov/patents/resources/methods/aiplafall02paper.jsp |work=USPTO |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921083344/http://www.uspto.gov/patents/resources/methods/aiplafall02paper.jsp |archive-date=September 21, 2012 |access-date=August 15, 2012 }}</ref>

Activist [[Suzanne Shell]] filed suit in December 2005, demanding Internet Archive pay her US$100,000 for archiving her website profane-justice.org between 1999 and 2004.<ref name = justia-2006-08>{{cite court |litigants=Internet Archive v. Shell |vol=505 F.Supp.2d 755 |reporter=at justia.com |opinion= |pinpoint=1:2006cv01726 |court=[[United States District Court for the District of Colorado|Colorado District Court]] |date=August 31, 2006 |url=http://dockets.justia.com/docket/colorado/codce/1:2006cv01726/98194 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |quote='April 25, 2007 Settlement agreement announced.' Filing 65, 2007-04-30: '...therefore ORDERED that this matter shall be DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE...'}}</ref><ref name = iavs-2007-02>{{cite web |last=Babcock |first=Lewis T. |date=February 13, 2007 |url=http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/waybackshell.pdf |title=''Internet Archive v. Shell'' Civil Action No. 06cv01726LTBCBS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140125143809/http://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/waybackshell.pdf |archive-date=January 25, 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=March 25, 2015 |quote=1) Internet Archive's motion to dismiss Shell's counterclaim for conversion and civil theft (Second Cause of Action) is GRANTED, 2) Internet Archive's motion to dismiss Shell's counterclaim for breach of contract (Third Cause of Action) is DENIED; 3) Internet Archive's motion to dismiss Shell's counterclaim for Racketeering under RICO and COCCA (Fourth Cause of Action) is GRANTED.}}</ref> Internet Archive filed a [[declaratory judgment]] action in the [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California]] on January 20, 2006, seeking a judicial determination that Internet Archive did not violate Shell's [[copyright]]. Shell responded and brought a [[countersuit]] against Internet Archive for archiving her site, which she alleges is in violation of her [[terms of service]].<ref name = infoweek-2007-03>{{cite news |first=Thomas |last=Claburn |title=Colorado Woman Sues To Hold Web Crawlers To Contracts |publisher=[[InformationWeek]], UBM Tech, UBM LLC |location=New York, New York, US |date=March 16, 2007 |url=http://www.informationweek.com/colorado-woman-sues-to-hold-web-crawlers-to-contracts/d/d-id/1053075 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904170742/http://www.informationweek.com/colorado-woman-sues-to-hold-web-crawlers-to-contracts/d/d-id/1053075 |archive-date=September 4, 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=March 25, 2015 |quote=Computers can enter into contracts on behalf of people. The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) says that a 'contract may be formed by the interaction of electronic agents of the parties, even if no individual was aware of or reviewed the electronic agents' actions or the resulting terms and agreements.'}}</ref> On February 13, 2007, a judge for the [[United States District Court for the District of Colorado]] dismissed all counterclaims except [[breach of contract]].<ref name = iavs-2007-02 /> The Internet Archive did not move to dismiss [[copyright infringement]] claims Shell asserted arising out of its copying activities, which would also go forward.<ref name = illcd-2007>{{cite web |url=http://www.internetlibrary.com/cases/lib_case456.cfm |title=Internet Archive v. Suzanne Shell |last=Samson |first=Martin H., Phillips Nizer LLP |year=2007<!-- This article has no date. I looked everywhere. --> |website=internetlibrary.com |publisher=Internet Library of Law and Court Decisions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140803002113/http://www.internetlibrary.com/cases/lib_case456.cfm |archive-date=August 3, 2014 |url-status=live |access-date=March 25, 2015 |quote=More importantly, held the court, Internet Archive's mere copying of Shell's site, and display thereof in its database, did not constitute the requisite exercise of dominion and control over defendant's property. Importantly, noted the court, the defendant at all times owned and operated her own site. Said the Court: 'Shell has failed to allege facts showing that Internet Archive exercised dominion or control over her website, since Shell's complaint states explicitly that she continued to own and operate the website while it was archived on the Wayback machine. Shell identifies no authority supporting the notion that copying documents is by itself enough of a deprivation of use to support conversion. Conversely, numerous circuits have determined that it is not.'}}</ref>

On April 25, 2007, Internet Archive and Suzanne Shell jointly announced the settlement of their lawsuit.<ref name = justia-2006-08 /> The Internet Archive said it "...has no interest in including materials in the Wayback Machine of persons who do not wish to have their Web content archived. We recognize that Ms. Shell has a valid and enforceable copyright in her Web site and we regret that the inclusion of her Web site in the Wayback Machine resulted in this litigation." Shell said, "I respect the historical value of Internet Archive's goal. I never intended to interfere with that goal nor cause it any harm."<ref name = a-2007-04>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/post/119669/lawsuit-settled |title=Internet Archive and Suzanne Shell Settle Lawsuit |author=brewster |date=April 25, 2007 |website=archive.org |publisher=Internet Archive |location=Denver, CO, US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205074057/https://archive.org/post/119669/lawsuit-settled |archive-date=December 5, 2010 |url-status=live |access-date=March 25, 2015 |quote=Both parties sincerely regret any turmoil that the lawsuit may have caused for the other. Neither Internet Archive nor Ms. Shell condones any conduct which may have caused harm to either party arising out of the public attention to this lawsuit. The parties have not engaged in such conduct and request that the public response to the amicable resolution of this litigation be consistent with their wishes that no further harm or turmoil be caused to either party.}}</ref>

Between 2013 and 2016, a [[pornographic actor]] named Daniel Davydiuk tried to remove archived images of himself from the Wayback Machine's archive, first by sending multiple [[DMCA request]]s to the archive, and then by appealing to the [[Federal Court of Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mondaq.com/canada/x/358282/Trade%20Secrets/Copyright%20Implications%20of%20a%20Right%20to%20be%20Forgotten%20Or%20How%20to%20TakeDown%20the%20Internet%20Archive |title=Copyright Implications Of A "Right To Be Forgotten"? Or How To Take-Down The Internet Archive. |date=December 5, 2014 |first=Richard |last=Stobbe |access-date=March 8, 2019 |work=Mondaq |archive-date=November 18, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118095257/http://www.mondaq.com/canada/x/358282/Trade%20Secrets/Copyright%20Implications%20of%20a%20Right%20to%20be%20Forgotten%20Or%20How%20to%20TakeDown%20the%20Internet%20Archive |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://canlii.ca/t/gf3d7 |title=Davydiuk v. Internet Archive Canada, 2014 FC 944 |date=October 16, 2014 |access-date=March 8, 2019 |work=[[CanLII]] |publisher=[[Federation of Law Societies of Canada]] |first=Glennys |last=McVeigh |author-link=Glennys McVeigh |editor-first=James |editor-last=Philpott |editor2-first=Adam |editor2-last=Weissman |editor3-first=Ren |editor3-last=Bucholz |editor4-first=Brent |editor4-last=Kettles |editor5-first=Aaron |editor5-last=Pearl |archive-date=December 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201218143737/https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2014/2014fc944/2014fc944.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2016/2016fc1313/2016fc1313.html |title=Davydiuk v. Internet Archive Canada and Internet Archive, 2016 FC 1313 (CanLII) |date=November 30, 2016 |access-date=March 8, 2019 |location=Ottawa, Ontario |work=[[CanLII]] |first=Richard F. |last=Southcott |publisher=[[Federation of Law Societies of Canada]] |editor-first=John |editor-last=Philpott |editor2-first=Alex |editor2-last=Alton |editor3-first=Ren |editor3-last=Bucholz |archive-date=June 29, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190629215557/https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/fct/doc/2016/2016fc1313/2016fc1313.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The images were then finally removed from the website in 2017.

 

In 2018, archives of [[Stalkerware|stalkerware application]] FlexiSpy's website were removed from the Wayback Machine. The company claimed to have contacted the Internet Archive, presumably to remove the archives of its website.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Cox|first=Joseph|date=May 22, 2018|title=The Wayback Machine Is Deleting Evidence of Malware Sold to Stalkers|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/nekzzq/wayback-machine-deleting-evidence-flexispy|access-date=January 24, 2022|website=[[Vice News|Vice]]|archive-date=January 24, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124045413/https://www.vice.com/en/article/nekzzq/wayback-machine-deleting-evidence-flexispy|url-status=live}}</ref>

Archive.org is currently [[Internet censorship in China|blocked in China]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Conger |first1=Kate |title=Backing up the history of the internet in Canada to save it from Trump |url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/08/backing-up-the-history-of-the-internet-in-canada-to-save-it-from-trump/ |work=TechCrunch |access-date=May 14, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227100714/https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/08/backing-up-the-history-of-the-internet-in-canada-to-save-it-from-trump/ |archive-date=December 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Where to find what's disappeared online, and a whole lot more: the Internet Archive |url=https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-02-23/where-find-whats-disappeared-online-and-whole-lot-more-internet-archive |publisher=Public Radio International |access-date=May 14, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328092846/https://www.pri.org/stories/2017-02-23/where-find-whats-disappeared-online-and-whole-lot-more-internet-archive |archive-date=March 28, 2017}}</ref> After the Islamic State terrorist organization was banned, the Internet Archive had been [[Internet censorship in Russia|blocked in its entirety in Russia]] as a host of an outreach video from that organization, for a short time in 2015–16.<ref name="usn1"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=Chirgwin |first1=Richard |title=There's no Wayback in Russia: Putin blocks Archive.org |website=[[The Register]] |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/01/russias_putin_blocks_archiveorg/ |access-date=May 14, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007165431/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/09/01/russias_putin_blocks_archiveorg |archive-date=October 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Russia won't go Wayback, blocks the Internet Archive |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/web/russia-censors-wayback-machines-485-billion-archived-web-pages/ |publisher=Digital Trends |access-date=May 14, 2017 |date=June 26, 2015 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417125727/http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/russia-censors-wayback-machines-485-billion-archived-web-pages/ |archive-date=April 17, 2016}}</ref>{{update inline|date=October 2020}} Since 2016, the website has been back, available in its entirety, although local commercial lobbyists are suing the Internet Archive in a local court to ban it on copyright grounds.<ref>{{Cite web|title=В России разблокирован крупнейший интернет-архив|url=https://rg.ru/2016/04/18/v-rossii-razblokirovan-krupnejshij-internet-arhiv.html|access-date=October 18, 2020|website=Российская газета|date=April 18, 2016 |language=ru|archive-date=April 5, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405031631/https://rg.ru/2016/04/18/v-rossii-razblokirovan-krupnejshij-internet-arhiv.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

[[Alison Macrina]], director of the [[Library Freedom Project]], notes that "while librarians deeply value individual privacy, we also strongly oppose censorship".<ref name="usn1"/>

Other threats include natural disasters,<ref>{{cite web |title=Help Us Keep the Archive Free, Accessible, and Reader Private {{!}} Internet Archive Blogs |date=November 29, 2016 |url=https://blog.archive.org/2016/11/29/help-us-keep-the-archive-free-accessible-and-private/ |access-date=May 14, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170521080543/http://blog.archive.org/2016/11/29/help-us-keep-the-archive-free-accessible-and-private/ |archive-date=May 21, 2017}}</ref> destruction (remote or physical),<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2013-11-07-wayback-machine-internet-archive-fire.html |title=Wayback Machine web archive survives destructive fire but needs help to recover |last=Sakr |first=Sharif |date=November 7, 2013 |access-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109025136/https://www.engadget.com/2013-11-07-wayback-machine-internet-archive-fire.html}}</ref> manipulation of the archive's contents (see also: [[cyberattack]], [[backup]]), problematic copyright laws<ref>{{cite web |title=Internet Archive: Proposed Changes To DMCA Would Make Us "Censor The Web" |url=https://consumerist.com/2016/06/07/internet-archive-proposed-changes-to-dmca-would-make-us-censor-the-web/ |publisher=Consumerist |access-date=May 14, 2017 |date=June 7, 2016 |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111161239/https://consumerist.com/2016/06/07/internet-archive-proposed-changes-to-dmca-would-make-us-censor-the-web/ |archive-date=November 11, 2016}}</ref> and surveillance of the site's users.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Herb |first1=Ulrich |title=Die Trump-Angst grassiert |date=December 6, 2016 |trans-title=The Trump fear is rampant |url=https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Die-Trump-Angst-grassiert-3549579.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207164413/https://www.heise.de/tp/features/Die-Trump-Angst-grassiert-3549579.html |archive-date=December 7, 2016 |access-date=May 14, 2017 |publisher=heise online |language=de |quote=Die Betreiber des Archives fürchten neben Zensur und Manipulation der digitalen Aufzeichnungen demnach auch die Überwachung der Archive-Nutzer. [The operators of the archive fear not only censorship and manipulation of the digital recordings, but also the surveillance of the archive users].}}</ref>

* [[Anna's Archive]]

* [[Link rot]]

* [[List of Web archiving initiatives]]

* [[Z-Library]]

* {{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8I28erYFLc | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220106023827/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8I28erYFLc| archive-date=January 6, 2022| title = Internet history is fragile. This archive is making sure it doesn't disappear | publisher = PBS Newshour | location = San Francisco | access-date=September 19, 2018}}