If you have checked the global leaderboards on Fortnite Tracker recently, you might have noticed something is seriously off. Names are missing. Longtime top-tier players have suddenly vanished from the rankings. The culprit isn’t a mass migration of players to other games, but a quiet technical shift behind the scenes.
Epic Games recently rolled out an API privacy update with the launch of Chapter 7. This change has fundamentally altered how third-party sites pull player data. For years, platforms like the Tracker Network have given fans a way to brag about their K/D ratios, wins, and crown counts. Now, those leaderboards are missing a massive chunk of the community.
The Default Setting That Changed Everything
At the heart of the issue is a change in how Fortnite handles player permission. Previously, player profiles were relatively open to public API queries unless a user specifically went into their settings to hide them. The latest Chapter 7 patch flips that logic on its head.
Now, new and existing accounts are default-set to private for third-party sharing. If a player does not explicitly toggle their privacy settings to allow public tracking, their stats simply do not exist to the outside world. The API returns an error or blank data when Fortnite Tracker tries to scan their history.
It is a massive blow to the competitive scene. Without those accounts opting in, the global rankings don’t reflect the actual player base anymore. A player with hundreds of crown wins this season might not even show up on the leaderboard if they haven’t flipped the switch in their settings.
Why Epic Games Made the Move
Epic hasn’t made a loud public announcement about the change, but the motivation is clear enough. Privacy concerns have been mounting across the gaming industry for years. Protecting younger players from toxicity is a major focus for Epic. By locking down data by default, they prevent external sites from scraping player details without direct consent.
This is not the first time Epic has tightened its grip on player data. Over the years, they have gradually restricted what information is made public. But this latest Chapter 7 update is by far the most aggressive. It essentially blinds third-party databases unless the user acts.
For casual players, this might seem like a minor detail. Many don’t even know Fortnite Tracker exists. But for the dedicated competitive community, stats are everything. They are how players find teammates, prove their skill to esports organizations, and track their own daily progress.
How to Put Your Stats Back on the Leaderboard
Fortunately, the fix is incredibly simple for players who want to keep tracking their progress. It only requires a quick trip to the in-game settings menu.
- Open Fortnite and go to the main settings menu.
- Navigate to the “Account and Privacy” tab on the far right.
- Scroll down to the “Gameplay Privacy” section.
- Find the option that says “Show on Career Leaderboard” and turn it ON.
- Make sure “Public Game Stats” is also set to ON.
Once those settings are saved, it can take anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours for platforms like Fortnite Tracker to update. Once the system registers the change, your history will start filling in again.
An Uncertain Future for Tracker Sites
While the fix is easy, getting millions of casual and semi-competitive players to manually change their settings is a monumental task. Most players simply play the game and never touch these menus. Because of this, the global leaderboards on Fortnite Tracker may never be as comprehensive as they once were.
Tracker Network has adapted to these kinds of hurdles before. They will likely push for more in-game integration or encourage community awareness campaigns. But as developers continue to prioritize absolute privacy, the golden era of open gaming APIs might be coming to an end. For now, if you want to prove you’re the best in Chapter 7, you’ll have to make sure Fortnite actually lets you show it.
