Hidden links on AliExpress and DHGate: how brands detect and remove counterfeit listings

Hidden links are a tactic counterfeit sellers use on AliExpress and DHGate to sell fake branded products without openly displaying the brand name, logo, or product in the listing.

Instead of listing the counterfeit directly, sellers create a generic-looking product page and share the real meaning of that link through private channels, forums, social media, livestreams, or shared documents.

For brands, this creates a difficult enforcement problem. The listing may not mention the brand at all, but the seller is still using the platform to complete counterfeit transactions.

In this guide, we explain how hidden links work, why they matter for brand protection teams, how to detect them, and how to remove hidden links from AliExpress and DHGate manually or at scale.

TL;DR

• Traditional keyword monitoring misses hidden links because the listing may not contain the brand name, logo, or product description. Detection requires combining off-platform community surveillance, reverse image search, buyer review photos, and AI-based image recognition
• AliExpress complaints go through the Alibaba International IPP Platform (ipp.aidcgroup.net); DHGate requires brand portal IP registration before complaint submission. Two distinct processes that cannot be swapped
• After a listing is removed, sellers often relist quickly. Monitoring for repeat seller behavior, reused product images, and related storefronts is as important as the initial takedown
• Hidden links are not only a marketplace problem. They are discovered, explained, and promoted through Reddit, Discord, Telegram, TikTok, and shared spreadsheets before a buyer ever reaches the checkout page

What are hidden links on marketplaces?

Hidden links are product listings designed to hide what is actually being sold.

On platforms like AliExpress and DHGate, counterfeit sellers know that obvious listings are easier to detect. A listing that uses a protected brand name, shows a recognizable logo, or copies official product images can be flagged by marketplace systems, brand protection teams, or the rights owner directly.

So instead, sellers disguise the listing.

They may publish a generic product page for something unrelated, such as an accessory, a basic item, or a low-value product. The title, images, and description do not openly show the counterfeit product. To anyone browsing normally, the listing looks vague or irrelevant.

But buyers who have received instructions elsewhere know what the listing really represents. They purchase the generic item, then message the seller privately to confirm the actual product, size, model, color, or branded design they want shipped.

In practice, the marketplace sees a normal transaction. The brand owner sees nothing obvious in the listing. The counterfeit seller uses the platform’s checkout infrastructure while keeping the real sale hidden.

That is what makes hidden links difficult to detect and enforce.

What are AliExpress hidden links?

AliExpress hidden links are disguised product listings used to sell counterfeit or unauthorized branded products without naming the brand directly on the platform.

On AliExpress, sellers can create listings that appear generic or unrelated, while the actual product details are shared privately or off-platform.

A seller may list a generic product at a specific price point. The image may show an unrelated item, a cropped product photo, or a visual with the logo removed. The title avoids protected brand names. The description gives little or no useful product information.

The real transaction happens elsewhere.

AliExpress hidden links are often shared through social media, private messages, replica communities, forums, spreadsheets, or livestream comments. A buyer who already knows the seller’s system uses the link to place an order, then confirms the real item privately.

This tactic is especially common in categories where brand demand is high and counterfeit margins are attractive, including:

• Fashion and apparel
• Footwear
• Luxury accessories
• Watches and jewelry
• Sportswear
• Consumer electronics
• Beauty and personal care products

For brand protection teams, the challenge is simple: the listing may not contain the brand name, logo, or exact product description. That means traditional keyword monitoring alone will often miss it.

This is why marketplace enforcement needs to go beyond simple search terms and combine keyword monitoring, visual detection, seller analysis, and evidence collection across multiple channels. For brands facing this type of issue regularly, marketplace protection software can help detect and enforce disguised listings at scale.

What are DHGate hidden links?

DHGate hidden links work in a similar way.

On DHGate, hidden links can be used as disguised checkout pages for products that are promoted elsewhere, including through private groups, social media, or shared spreadsheets.

A seller creates a vague or unrelated product listing and uses it as the payment page for a different product, often a counterfeit version of a branded item. The actual product details are communicated privately, outside the listing itself.

What makes DHGate’s hidden links particularly difficult is how organized some buyer communities have become. Hidden links may circulate through shared documents, Reddit threads, Discord servers, Telegram groups, or social posts. In some cases, users search directly for terms like “DHGate spreadsheet” or “DHGate links” to find pre-curated lists of sellers and products.

That matters for brands because the discovery journey often happens outside DHGate. The buyer may never search DHGate for the brand name. They find the seller through an external community, receive the hidden link, and complete the transaction through a disguised listing.

This makes DHGate’s hidden links both a marketplace problem and an off-platform monitoring problem.

Why hidden links are difficult for brands to enforce

Hidden links are not just isolated fake listings. They are an evasion tactic designed to make counterfeiting harder to detect.

The core enforcement challenge is that the visible listing often does not contain the obvious infringement. The brand name may be missing. The logo may be cropped out. The product image may be generic. The real product details may only appear in private messages, buyer communities, comments, or shared spreadsheets.

This creates four problems for brand teams.

First, keyword monitoring is not enough. If the seller does not use your brand name, product name, or trademarked terms, standard search-based detection can miss the listing.

Second, the evidence is harder to collect. A generic listing may not prove infringement on its own. Brands may need review images, off-platform screenshots, seller messages, or test purchase documentation to show what is actually being sold.

Third, sellers can move quickly. A hidden link removed from AliExpress may reappear on DHGate, or vice versa. The same seller may also change storefronts, reuse product images, or route traffic through a new social media account.

Finally, hidden links often sit inside a wider counterfeit network. The marketplace listing is only one piece of the operation. The discovery, promotion, buyer education, and seller coordination often happen elsewhere.

For brands, the goal should not only be to remove one link. It should be to understand the seller behavior behind the link and build an enforcement process that can scale.

How to detect hidden links targeting your brand

Hidden links are difficult to find because they are designed to avoid obvious brand signals. But they are not invisible.

The strongest detection strategies combine marketplace monitoring, off-platform intelligence, image analysis, and test purchases.

1. Monitor off-platform communities

Search for your brand name, product names, common abbreviations, and misspellings across communities where hidden links are shared.

This includes Reddit, Facebook Groups, Discord, Telegram, TikTok, Instagram, and forums related to replica products. You are not only looking for direct counterfeit listings. You are looking for posts, comments, spreadsheets, seller recommendations, product requests, or links that point back to AliExpress or DHGate.

This is where social media protection becomes important. Hidden link activity often begins on social channels before the buyer reaches the marketplace checkout page.

2. Track coded language and misspellings

Hidden link communities often avoid obvious brand terms. Sellers and buyers may use altered spellings, initials, abbreviations, emojis, or category-specific slang to avoid detection.

Instead of using a full brand name, they may use a shortened version, a deliberate typo, or a coded product reference. These variations should be included in your monitoring rules.

3. Search for product-specific terms

Do not only monitor your brand name.

Search for product names, model numbers, collection names, colorways, packaging descriptions, product shapes, and visual identifiers. Hidden link sellers may avoid the brand name but still reference recognizable product attributes.

This is especially useful for fashion, footwear, accessories, toys, sports products, and electronics.

4. Use reverse image search

Counterfeit sellers often reuse official brand images because they are high-quality and easy to find. Even when they crop the image, blur the logo, or remove part of the product, the original photo may still be traceable.

Reverse image search can help find copied assets across marketplaces, social media, and aggregator sites.

5. Review buyer-generated photos

Hidden link listings may avoid showing the counterfeit product, but buyers sometimes upload photos in reviews.

These review images can reveal the real product being shipped, including logos, packaging, labels, or design features. For enforcement teams, buyer-uploaded photos can provide useful evidence that the generic listing is being used to sell a counterfeit branded item.

6. Monitor hashtags and social video content

Hashtags around replicas, product dupes, and counterfeit communities can surface hidden link promotion before the link is widely distributed.

TikTok and other video platforms are particularly important because sellers and buyers may show the product visually while keeping the actual purchase link vague or disguised.

If counterfeiters are using paid social posts or search ads to drive traffic to hidden links, ad protection can also help brands detect and remove fraudulent ads connected to these journeys.

7. Check ecommerce aggregator sites

Some third-party sites index marketplace listings from AliExpress, DHGate, and similar platforms. These aggregators may surface hidden or disguised listings that are difficult to find through the marketplace’s own search.

They can also help identify duplicate listings, repeated seller behavior, and reused product imagery.

8. Run test purchases when needed

For high-risk cases, test purchases can provide the clearest evidence.

A test purchase can confirm that a generic listing is being used to sell a counterfeit version of your product. It can also document the seller’s communication, transaction flow, packaging, shipping details, and product received.

This evidence is useful for platform takedowns and can be important if the case later requires escalation.

9. Use image recognition and logo fingerprinting

Because hidden link sellers avoid brand names, image-based detection is essential.

AI image recognition, logo detection, and image fingerprinting can identify product matches even when the listing title and description do not mention the brand. This helps brands find disguised listings that keyword monitoring would miss.

How to remove hidden links on AliExpress

AliExpress infringement reports are handled through Alibaba’s official Intellectual Property Protection Platform, which covers AliExpress, Alibaba.com, Taobao, Tmall, 1688.com, and other Alibaba Group ecommerce platforms.

The exact process can vary depending on your account, rights, and case type, but the general workflow is:

Step 1: Gather evidence

Before filing, collect everything that shows the listing is being used to sell counterfeit or unauthorized branded products.

Useful evidence may include:

• Listing URL
• Product ID or item number
• Screenshots of the listing
• Seller name and store details
• Buyer review photos showing branded products
• Private messages confirming the real item being sold
• Test purchase documentation
• Photos of the counterfeit product received
• Comparison with the authentic product

For hidden links, evidence is especially important because the listing may not visibly show the infringement at first glance.

Step 2: Prepare your IP documentation

You will usually need documentation proving that you own or represent the relevant rights.

This may include:

• Trademark registration certificates
• Copyright registration or ownership evidence
• Patent or design rights documentation, if relevant
• Business license or company identification
• Authorization letter or power of attorney, if filing as an agent

Make sure the IP right you submit matches the product category and infringement type.

Step 3: Submit the complaint through the IPP platform

Once your account and IP rights are set up, submit a complaint through the Alibaba IPP Platform for the relevant AliExpress listing.

Be specific. Explain that the listing is being used as a hidden link to sell a counterfeit or unauthorized branded product. Connect your evidence clearly to the listing.

Avoid vague claims like “this seller is fake.” Instead, show why the listing infringes your rights and include the evidence that proves the hidden link mechanism.

Step 4: Monitor the complaint

After submission, check the status of your complaint. Sellers may respond or submit counter-notices, and the platform may request additional information.

Respond quickly if more evidence is needed.

Step 5: Track repeat sellers

After a listing is removed, keep monitoring the seller, store name, product images, pricing patterns, and associated accounts.

Hidden link sellers often relist quickly. Tracking repeat behavior makes future enforcement stronger and helps identify seller networks rather than isolated listings.

For repeat infringers, brands may also need a broader seller intelligence approach. Red Points’ clustering technology helps connect sellers, listings, and profiles that may appear separate but belong to the same wider network.

How to remove hidden links on DHGate

DHGate has a more formal process that requires brands to register their IP before submitting takedown requests.

Here is the recommended process.

Step 1: Gather evidence

Start by documenting the hidden link listing.

Collect:

• Listing URL
• DHGate item code
• Seller/store information
• Screenshots of the listing
• Screenshots of reviews, if relevant
• Private seller communication
• Test purchase records
• Photos of the counterfeit product received
• Proof that the item infringes your trademark, copyright, patent, or design rights

Because hidden links are intentionally vague, evidence from off-platform communication, buyer reviews, or test purchases can be especially valuable.

Step 2: Verify IP ownership

Before filing, prepare documentation that proves you own or represent the relevant intellectual property.

You may need:

• IP type, such as trademark, copyright, or patent
• IP name
• Registration number
• IP class
• Registration expiry date
• Proof of ownership

If you are acting on behalf of the IP owner, you may also need:

• IP owner identification
• Agent authorization document
• Letter of guarantee
• Authorization expiry date

Step 3: Register your IP with DHGate

DHGate requires brands to register their intellectual property through its brand portal before submitting IPR complaints.

You will need a registered DHGate account. Once your documents are ready, registration can be completed relatively quickly, but document verification may take several business days.

This step is important because you generally cannot move straight to enforcement without first having your IP verified.

Step 4: Submit the DHGate IPR Protection Form

Once your IP has been verified, submit your complaint through DHGate’s IPR Protection Form.

Include:

• Your contact information
• Your IP information
• The item codes and URLs you are reporting
• A clear explanation of the infringement
• All supporting evidence

For hidden links, clearly explain that the visible listing is being used to facilitate the sale of a counterfeit or unauthorized branded product. Attach any evidence showing the connection between the generic listing and the actual product being sold.

Step 5: Follow up

Monitor your DHGate account and email for updates or requests for more information.

If the listing remains active after a reasonable period, follow up with the platform. Keep a record of all submissions, responses, and outcomes.

Step 6: Monitor for reappearance

After removal, continue monitoring for the same seller, product images, pricing patterns, and related hidden links.

Repeat seller behavior is common. Documenting that pattern helps support stronger enforcement and future escalation.

DHGate has also published information about its wider IP protection efforts, including its online complaint platform and brand cooperation initiatives, in its IP Protection Annual Report.

For a broader enforcement framework, see Red Points’ guide on how to stop counterfeit sellers.

How hidden links are shared outside the marketplace

One of the biggest mistakes brands make is only searching inside AliExpress or DHGate.

Hidden links are often discovered, explained, and promoted elsewhere. The marketplace listing is just the checkout page.

Common distribution channels include:

• Reddit communities focused on replicas
• Facebook Groups
• Discord servers
• Telegram channels
• Instagram direct messages
• TikTok videos, comments, and livestreams
• Shared spreadsheets or link lists
• Private seller catalogs
• WhatsApp groups

Livestream commerce is increasingly relevant here. Sellers can show products live, avoid keeping explicit counterfeit listings visible for long periods, and direct interested buyers to disguised links for purchase.

That does not mean every hidden link strategy starts with livestreaming. But for some categories, livestreams and short-form video can act as the discovery layer, while the actual transaction happens through a hidden marketplace link.

For brands, this means detection needs to start before the marketplace listing. If you only monitor AliExpress or DHGate directly, you may miss the communities where hidden links are actually being shared.

Why manual takedowns are not enough

Manual takedowns are important, but they are reactive.

They work for listings you already know about. They do not automatically find new hidden links, track off-platform distribution, identify repeat sellers, or connect activity across AliExpress, DHGate, social media, ads, and other marketplaces.

This is the main limitation for brand teams.

Hidden link sellers are constantly adapting. They change wording, crop images, move links, switch platforms, and communicate privately. A manual process can quickly become too slow, especially for brands facing high volumes of counterfeit activity.

The most effective approach combines:

• Marketplace monitoring
• Social media and forum monitoring
• Image recognition
• Logo fingerprinting
• Test purchase workflows
• Automated takedown submission
• Seller clustering and repeat infringer tracking
• Ongoing post-takedown monitoring

That is how brands move from removing individual links to disrupting the seller networks behind them.

How Red Points helps brands remove hidden links at scale

Red Points processes 90M+ new links per day across 5,000+ global marketplaces, including AliExpress, DHGate, Amazon, and social channels, with 5.1M+ enforcement actions per year across 1,300+ brands. For hidden links specifically, where keyword monitoring fails, the platform’s image recognition and logo fingerprinting detect suspicious listings even when sellers have removed the brand name and altered the product imagery.

Red Points also helps brands monitor the channels where hidden links are shared. Through Social Media Protection, brands can identify counterfeit-related activity across social platforms, while Ad Protection helps detect fraudulent ads that may route consumers to hidden or deceptive purchase journeys.

For repeat sellers, Red Points can support a more strategic enforcement approach by connecting patterns across sellers, listings, accounts, and channels. This helps brands move beyond one-off takedowns and build a clearer picture of the networks behind counterfeit activity.

That means your team spends less time searching manually and more time acting on verified infringements.

Request a demo to see how Red Points helps brands detect and remove hidden links across AliExpress, DHGate, and other major marketplaces.

Frequently asked questions