Advancement of Pre-Blocking Technology
Achieving Delays in Leak Timing
Naver Webtoon’s self-developed illegal webtoon distribution blocking technology, ToonRadar, is reducing damages caused by illegal copies through technological advancement. The number of webtoons illegally copied on the day of their official release has reportedly decreased by approximately 80%.
On December 18, Naver Webtoon announced that it has released the "2025 ToonRadar Report: The Effectiveness of Pre-Blocking Technology Response," which highlights the achievements of advancing pre-blocking technology for ToonRadar. The report is available on the official corporate website under "WebtoonWith Story."
Naver Webtoon announced on the 18th that it has released the "2025 ToonRadar Report: The Effectiveness of Pre-Blocking Technology Response," which showcases the achievements of advancing pre-blocking technology for its self-developed webtoon illegal distribution blocking technology, ToonRadar. The report is available on the official corporate website under "WebtoonWith Story." ToonRadar logo. Provided by Naver Webtoon
Since July 2017, ToonRadar has been used to track illegal copies of Naver Webtoon’s content both domestically and internationally, predict suspicious users, and preemptively block them. This technology plays a role in protecting revenue that should go to creators. From the beginning, artificial intelligence (AI) was integrated to respond efficiently to illegal copying, and related technologies have been continuously enhanced.
This year, Naver Webtoon focused on advancing technologies such as account misuse detection, manipulated automated access detection, and abnormal behavior pattern recognition. These improvements have increased the difficulty of illegal copying and leaking, and have delayed the timing of leaks.
According to the report released on WebtoonWith Story, the average number of paid episodes rented per account attempting illegal distribution on Naver Webtoon’s Korean-language platform has dropped to one-tenth (1/10) of previous levels. This means that the cost for illegal site operators to acquire content through accounts has increased more than tenfold.
Among the top 50 most popular domestic webtoons, which are most vulnerable to fast leaks and significant revenue loss, the gap between the latest episode uploaded to illegal sites and the latest episode available on the official platform has widened by about three times from the beginning to the end of the year. Since the latest paid episodes on Naver Webtoon become free after a certain period, delaying the time it takes for these episodes to be leaked to illegal sites is essential to protect creators’ revenue.
The number of works illegally copied and uploaded to illegal sites immediately on the day the latest episode is released on the official platform decreased by about 80% as of November, compared to the average for the first to third quarters of this year, significantly improving the defense rate. If the latest episodes are not quickly uploaded to illegal sites, it leads to a decline in usability for users of those illegal platforms.
According to Naver Webtoon, the strengthening of ToonRadar’s pre-blocking capabilities is believed to have indirectly contributed to a decrease in traffic to illegal sites. Data from the analytics platform SimilarWeb shows that, since September, the average monthly traffic to the largest illegal webtoon site in Korea has decreased by about 33% compared to the average in the first half of the year.
Meanwhile, Naver Webtoon has established a dedicated ToonRadar research and development team under its AI division and is working in conjunction with the anti-piracy organization to eradicate illegal webtoon distribution.
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