Error opening Dark Web Monitoring in Windows Defender

Question

Regardless of what device i try. I've logged out, cleared cache, rebooted PC, but I still get this error when trying to open Dark Web Monitoring

Answer 1

I see, thanks for the update. By any chance did you file feedback?

Answer 2

Hi Debbie,

I see a few reports dating back to 2 months old on this, so it might be an ongoing issue. Could you please send feedback using the Help menu, to let Microsoft know?

I am eager to hear back from you to find a solution.

Answer 3

The error dialog indicates that the Defender app cannot currently load Dark web monitoring data. The available documentation does not provide a specific client-side fix for this scenario beyond the standard troubleshooting already attempted (sign out, clear cache, reboot, try other devices).

The supported actions around Dark web monitoring and identity theft monitoring are:

1. Verify that identity theft monitoring is correctly set up and that the Defender dashboard is accessible in general (outside of Dark web monitoring). Identity theft monitoring in Defender relies on integration with Experian and requires that the monitoring profile (email, full name, date of birth at minimum) be created and active.
2. If Dark web monitoring or Credit monitoring was previously configured and is now failing to load, one supported recovery action is to remove the identity theft monitoring profile and re-create it:
   • In the Defender dashboard, open Dark web monitoring or Credit monitoring.
   • Select the ellipsis (…) and choose Remove all your info.
   • This deletes the information stored for identity theft monitoring in Defender (but not the breach/credit data held by Experian).
   • After removal, set up identity theft monitoring again and test Dark web monitoring.
3. If the issue persists across devices and after re-creating the monitoring profile, use the in-product feedback channel so the problem can be investigated as a service-side issue:
   • In the Defender app or portal, select the user icon.
   • Choose Help and feedback.
   • Submit feedback describing the Dark web monitoring load failure, the devices tried, and the steps already taken.
4. For additional community help and to see if others are experiencing the same service issue, use the Microsoft Answers community for Microsoft Defender.

If Dark web monitoring alerts were previously working but cannot be opened now, once the service is loading again any alerts (including archived ones) will appear under Alerts & history and in the Dark web monitoring Details page.

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References:

• Getting started with identity theft monitoring in Microsoft Defender
• Unenroll from identity theft monitoring in Microsoft Defender
• Dark web monitoring in Microsoft Defender FAQ