Frequently Asked Questions

CSWatch is a community-driven anti-cheat platform for Counter-Strike 2. We combine algorithmic signal analysis (account age, ban history, playtime anomalies, friend-network density) with human Overwatch-style demo review to produce a public, transparent record of players the community has flagged as cheaters or smurfs.

No. CSWatch is an independent project. We use Valve's public Steam and CS2 APIs in accordance with their terms, but we are not endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise affiliated with Valve Corporation.

Yes — the lookup, leaderboard, blog, and reporting features are free for everyone. CSWatch Pro (€4.99/month) supports the project and unlocks ad-free browsing, priority render queue for submitted demos, unlimited watchlist entries, and ban-alert notifications. See the pricing page for the full breakdown.

A 0-100 score that aggregates four sub-scores — ban record (35%), account legitimacy (25%), community feedback (25%), and behavioural anomalies (15%). Higher = cleaner record. Most accounts score 70+. Scores under 30 nearly always correspond to a confirmed ban, community conviction, or both. We publish the model weights and calibration plots quarterly.

Several factors can drag a score down: a VAC ban on any of their Steam games (driving the ban-record sub-score to floor), a high-density of banned accounts in their friend list, a young account with low CS2 hours but high rank, or accumulated community reports. Click through to the full profile to see exactly which signals are firing.

Yes. Email hello@cswatch.gg with your Steam ID and the basis for the appeal. We review appeals individually. Verifiable evidence (e.g., your account was hijacked, a report was submitted in bad faith) leads to manual adjustments. Appeals against actual VAC bans are out of scope — those are Valve's.

Partially. Behavioural-anomaly and community-feedback sub-scores drift back up as new clean match data accumulates. Ban-record sub-score does not recover, since Valve's VAC bans are permanent. The composite score therefore has a soft ceiling determined by ban history.

Look up the player's profile, click "Report", and attach a CS2 demo file as evidence. Demos rendered automatically into a video clip that reviewers watch. The case enters the review queue and is judged by 3+ Overwatch reviewers.

A CS2 demo file (.dem) of a match where the player exhibited suspect behaviour. Optionally include a timestamp pointing reviewers to a specific round or moment. Match links, screenshots, and forum posts are useful context but not sufficient on their own.

1. The demo is rendered into a reviewable video clip.
2. The case enters the public Overwatch queue.
3. 3+ trusted reviewers watch and vote: guilty / not guilty / insufficient evidence.
4. If consensus reaches 66%+ guilty, the player is publicly convicted.
5. Otherwise the case is closed and the report doesn't affect the player's public record.

Apply via the Overwatch page. You need a Steam account in good standing, no active bans, and you'll start in supervised mode where your votes are weighted lower until your accuracy rate stabilises. Reviewers maintaining 70%+ accuracy graduate to standard weight; below 60% earns a rotation out.

Email us with the case ID and your basis for appeal. Falsely-decided cases can be reopened or overturned. Our reviewer accuracy tracking exists precisely so we can identify and correct verdict patterns that don't match reality.

Public Steam profile data only — the same fields anyone visiting your profile page can see. Steam ID, persona name, avatar, game-library sample, friend list (when public), and ban indicators. We do not access private profiles, friends-only data, or any data that requires Steam authentication.

Reach out via email with your Steam ID. Removal of a clean profile is straightforward. Removal of a profile with confirmed convictions or VAC ban evidence is not — that information is part of the public record and serves the community oversight function CSWatch was built for.

EU residents can request access, correction, or erasure of their data via hello@cswatch.gg. See our Privacy Policy for the full data-handling and retention details.

Not directly — no software anti-cheat reliably detects DMA hardware cheats. CSWatch flags them indirectly through behavioural signals (impossible reaction times, statistical aim outliers) and community demo review. See our blog post The Anatomy of a Modern CS2 Cheat for the full technical breakdown.

Yes — see the developers page. Free tier allows 100 lookups/day. Higher rate limits available on request.

Profile data is fetched on-demand and cached for 24 hours. Ban indicators refresh hourly. Verdicts update in real time as reviewers cast votes. Match-history snapshots run nightly.