“Blocked due to unauthorized request (401)” is a status message in Google Search Console that indicates Googlebot received a 401 HTTP status code when trying to access a page on the site. This means the web server requires user authentication credentials that Googlebot does not have.
Some common causes include:
- Incorrect authorization configurations
- Missing API keys for certain endpoints
- Limited-access resources meant only for intranet users
- Password-protected pages
- Problems with intermediate proxies
- Bot protection software classifying Googlebot as an unauthorized visitor.
The “Blocked due to unauthorized request (401)” status message signals that server access control settings are deliberately blocking Googlebot from crawling those URLs due to lack of validated credentials and permissions.
Site owners should diagnose why authentication is required, confirm if the pages should be publicly indexable, and add proper access allowances for Googlebot where applicable.
Granting access helps search engines fully crawl and index the site.