methodology
How risk scores are calculated
Every player profile shows a single number from 0 to 100 alongside a coloured badge. The score is a deterministic, transparent combination of five signals. No machine learning, no hidden weights — just five numbers added up.
Score buckets
No or very weak alt signals.
Some links worth a glance.
Clear alt graph or active bans.
Multiple strong signals stacking.
The formula
Each signal contributes a fixed number of points. The total is clamped to the 0–100 range. Every player's profile shows their own breakdown row by row.
| Signal | What it measures | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Linked accounts | Distinct other accounts that have ever shared a non-cloud (personal) device with this player. Cloud streaming devices like Xbox Cloud Gaming and PS Plus Premium are excluded — those are shared between unrelated players and aren't reliable evidence. |
+5 each max 40 |
| Banned-on-network | How many different servers (across every Alt Detector customer) have ever banned any gamertag this player has used. Counts the breadth of the reputation, not which servers. |
+8 each max 32 |
| Currently banned by you | Whether an active ban exists for any of this player's gamertags on a server you own. A flat bonus rather than a per-server count, since one active ban already proves your moderation decision against them. | +15 if true |
| Burner pattern | 3 or more recorded sessions, all within a 7-day window. Captures the "throwaway account that connects, gets banned, makes a new one" pattern. | +10 if true |
| Cloud-only penalty | If the only links between this account and others are via cloud streaming devices (no personal hardware in common), we deduct 5 points. Cloud sharing is weak evidence and we don't want to falsely flag a casual streamer. | -5 if true |
Worked examples
Brand-new account with no shared devices, no bans anywhere on the network, sessions spread over months. Nothing flags it.
4 personal-device links (+20), banned on 2 other servers (+16), currently banned on one of yours (+15), no burner pattern. The graph and bans tell a clear story.
8 personal-device links (+40), banned on 4+ servers (+32), active ban on yours (+15), and 3+ sessions all within a week (+10). Almost everything flags.
What this score is — and isn't
- It's a screening signal, not a verdict. A high score means "look at this player carefully." It is not evidence on its own. Always check the alt graph and ban history yourself before taking action.
- It only sees what we record. Players who have never connected to a server running Alt Detector are invisible. New players score 0.
- Cloud devices weaken evidence. Two strangers can share a cloud device just by both owning Xbox Cloud Gaming. We flag those links separately and never count them as primary evidence.
- Gamertag changes are tracked. Bans on previous gamertags still count toward the score for the canonical account, so renaming an account doesn't reset its history.
- Search-result scores are conservative. In search listings the score uses only the alt-graph and network-ban signals (no burner / active-ban bonuses) so we can compute it for many rows quickly. The player-profile page shows the full score.
- Scores are cached for 5 minutes. A change to the underlying data (a fresh ban, a new connection) may take up to 5 minutes to reflect in the displayed score.