diff --git a/hive/server/common/mutes.py b/hive/server/common/mutes.py
index 10fd20be5fd90b0adbbbe86c40c62d8e32ca1507..468a94594e9295c80a10bcde44b9a645e43e632a 100644
--- a/hive/server/common/mutes.py
+++ b/hive/server/common/mutes.py
@@ -2,13 +2,14 @@
 
 import logging
 from time import perf_counter as perf
-from urllib.request import urlopen
+from urllib.request import urlopen, Request
 import ujson as json
 
 log = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 def _read_url(url):
-    return urlopen(url).read()
+    req = Request(url, headers={'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0'})
+    return urlopen(req).read()
 
 class Mutes:
     """Singleton tracking muted accounts."""