Title: Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection
Author: Automattic
Published: <strong>October 20, 2005</strong>
Last modified: November 12, 2025

---

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# Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection

 By [Automattic](https://profiles.wordpress.org/automattic/)

[Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/akismet.5.6.zip)

[Live Preview](https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/?preview=1)

 * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/#description)
 * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/#reviews)
 *  [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/#installation)
 * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/#developers)

 [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/)

## Description

The best anti-spam protection to block spam comments and spam in a contact form.
The most trusted antispam solution for WordPress and WooCommerce.

Akismet checks your comments and contact form submissions against our global database
of spam to prevent your site from publishing malicious content. You can review the
comment spam it catches on your blog’s “Comments” admin screen.

Major features in Akismet include:

 * Automatically checks all comments and filters out the ones that look like spam.
 * Each comment has a status history, so you can easily see which comments were 
   caught or cleared by Akismet and which were spammed or unspammed by a moderator.
 * URLs are shown in the comment body to reveal hidden or misleading links.
 * Moderators can see the number of approved comments for each user.
 * A discard feature that outright blocks the worst spam, saving you disk space 
   and speeding up your site.

PS: You’ll be prompted to get an Akismet.com API key to use it, once activated. 
Keys are free for personal blogs; paid subscriptions are available for businesses
and commercial sites.

## Installation

Upload the Akismet plugin to your blog, activate it, and then enter your Akismet.
com API key.

1, 2, 3: You’re done!

## Reviews

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f592bff85775c14f6f6715b2f148546414e3e7631f90fcb4004d72c759f23119?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Helpful Spam Filter](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/helpful-spam-filter/)󠁿

 [lindsay65](https://profiles.wordpress.org/lindsay65/) April 1, 2026

Catches most spam without much effort. Easy to use n saves time, though a few things
still require manual checks sometimes. Overall, pretty useful for daily use.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/62af4eb587ae0c1371a9a0f4598beb49e19c31f8273d74a436c9ef06692450fd?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Stops Spam Well](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/stops-spam-well/)󠁿

 [treverisaacs](https://profiles.wordpress.org/treverisaacs/) March 16, 2026

Installed Akismet on my blog, and spam comments dropped a lot. Works quietly in 
the background and filters most junk automatically. Didn’t need much setup either.
Really helpful plugin. tnkz devs.

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/b4c5eccb37aa8460447637de1ca0613550a92c24c9d3eb9e48015acaec124eca?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Spam Under Control](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/spam-under-control/)󠁿

 [damonmatheny](https://profiles.wordpress.org/damonmatheny/) March 3, 2026

Akismet helped cut down spam a lot on my blog. Didn’t realize how bad it was until
this filtered most of it. Runs quietly in the background. Misses a few sometimes,
but still very useful. 👍

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/0fb5ce78cb98959a73ba76c5226a12d201d454daa156929b4924b808ee39ca0e?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[The ultimate “set it and forget it” plugin for WordPress!](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/the-ultimate-set-it-and-forget-it-plugin-for-wordpress/)󠁿

 [pdfteq](https://profiles.wordpress.org/pdfteq/) February 19, 2026

: “I’ve been using Akismet on my blog for months, and it’s been a lifesaver. It 
works quietly in the background and catches 99% of the spam comments that used to
flood my inbox. I love that it doesn’t slow down my site or force my real visitors
to solve annoying CAPTCHAs. It’s reliable, easy to set up, and a must-have for any
WordPress user.”

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/cf7969a1a6b80ad4f77c71211746468616bad262bd020e557ce23854a7839821?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[Best antispam !](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/best-antispam-7/)󠁿

 [manucheb](https://profiles.wordpress.org/manucheb/) February 17, 2026

I use Akismet from 10 years, definitively the best antispam plugin for my blogs

![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8addeb9b5bf6bad10f7dbc647034c1ad44be0ff08511004db13c513eab4fd67d?
s=60&d=retro&r=g)

### 󠀁[protection shield](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/protection-shield/)󠁿

 [xmfhaxn76v](https://profiles.wordpress.org/xmfhaxn76v/) February 11, 2026

protect from fraud scam who spam users

 [ Read all 1,175 reviews ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/)

## Contributors & Developers

“Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection” is open source software. The following people
have contributed to this plugin.

Contributors

 *   [ Automattic ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/automattic/)
 *   [ Matt Mullenweg ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/)
 *   [ Ryan Boren ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryan/)
 *   [ Andy Skelton ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andy/)
 *   [ Michael Adams (mdawaffe) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdawaffe/)
 *   [ Tellyworth ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/tellyworth/)
 *   [ Joseph Scott ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/josephscott/)
 *   [ Dave Martin (lessbloat) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/lessbloat/)
 *   [ Eoin Gallagher ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/eoigal/)
 *   [ Christopher Finke ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cfinke/)
 *   [ Greg ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jgs/)
 *   [ Josh Smith ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/procifer/)
 *   [ Stephane Daury (stephdau) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/stephdau/)
 *   [ kbrownkd (a11n) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kbrownkd/)
 *   [ bluefuton ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/bluefuton/)
 *   [ Derek Springer ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/derekspringer/)
 *   [ Lisa Schuyler ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/lschuyler/)
 *   [ Andy Perdomo (a11n) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andyperdomo/)
 *   [ Anti-Spam ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/akismetantispam/)

“Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection” has been translated into 74 locales. Thank 
you to [the translators](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/akismet/contributors)
for their contributions.

[Translate “Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/akismet)

### Interested in development?

[Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/akismet/), check out
the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/akismet/), or subscribe to
the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/akismet/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/akismet/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss).

## Changelog

#### 5.6

_Release Date – 12 November 2025_

 * Improve caching of compatible plugins.
 * Explain the key features of Akismet more clearly on the setup page.
 * Improve the configuration process to better explain errors when they occur.
 * UI cleanup and refresh
 * Improve messaging related to usage limits.

#### 5.5

_Release Date – 15 July 2025_

 * Enable webhooks so that Akismet can process comments asynchronously to detect
   more types of spam.
 * Only include the Akismet widget CSS when the Akismet widget is present
 * Improve contrast/readability for certain UI elements

#### 5.4

_Release Date – 7 May 2025_

 * The stats pages now use the user’s locale instead of the site’s locale if they’re
   different.
 * Adds a ‘Compatible plugins’ section that will show installed and active plugins
   that are compatible with Akismet.
 * Akismet now requires PHP version 7.2 or above.

#### 5.3.7

_Release Date – 14 February 2025_

 * Simplify the logic used during a comment-check request to compare comments.

#### 5.3.6

_Release Date – 4 February 2025_

 * Improve the utility of submit-spam and submit-ham requests.
 * Modernize styles for the Akismet classic widget.

#### 5.3.5

_Release Date – 18 November 2024_

 * Address compatibility issues with < PHP 7.3 in v5.3.4 release.

#### 5.3.4

_Release Date – 18 November 2024_

 * Improve activation notice on Comments for users who haven’t set up their API 
   key yet.
 * Improve notice about commercial site status.

#### 5.3.3

_Release Date – 10 July 2024_

 * Make setup step clearer for new users.
 * Remove the stats section from the configuration page if the site has been revoked
   from the key.
 * Skip the Akismet comment check when the comment matches something in the disallowed
   list.
 * Prompt users on legacy plans to contact Akismet support for upgrades.

#### 5.3.2

_Release Date – 21 March 2024_

 * Improve the empty state shown to new users when no spam has been caught yet.
 * Update the message shown to users without a current subscription.
 * Add foundations for future webhook support.

#### 5.3.1

_Release Date – 17 January 2024_

 * Make the plugin more resilient when asset files are missing (as seen in WordPress
   Playground).
 * Add a link to the ‘Account overview’ page on akismet.com.
 * Fix a minor error that occurs when another plugin removes all comment actions
   from the dashboard.
 * Add the akismet_request_args filter to allow request args in Akismet API requests
   to be filtered.
 * Fix a bug that causes some contact forms to include unnecessary data in the comment_content
   parameter.

#### 5.3

_Release Date – 14 September 2023_

 * Improve display of user notices.
 * Add stylesheets for RTL languages.
 * Remove initial disabled state from ‘Save changes’ button.
 * Improve accessibility of API key entry form.
 * Add new filter hooks for Fluent Forms.
 * Fix issue with PHP 8.1 compatibility.

#### 5.2

_Release Date – 21 June 2023_

 * Visual refresh of Akismet stats.
 * Improve PHP 8.1 compatibility.
 * Improve appearance of plugin to match updated stats.
 * Change minimum supported PHP version to 5.6 to match WordPress.
 * Drop IE11 support and update minimum WordPress version to 5.8 (where IE11 support
   was removed from WP Core).

#### 5.1

_Release Date – 20 March 2023_

 * Removed unnecessary limit notices from admin page.
 * Improved spam detection by including post taxonomies in the comment-check call.
 * Removed API keys from stats iframes to avoid possible inadvertent exposure.

#### 5.0.2

_Release Date – 1 December 2022_

 * Improved compatibility with themes that hide or show UI elements based on mouse
   movements.
 * Increased security of API keys by sending them in request bodies instead of subdomains.

#### 5.0.1

_Release Date – 28 September 2022_

 * Added an empty state for the Statistics section on the admin page.
 * Fixed a bug that broke some admin page links when Jetpack plugins are active.
 * Marked some event listeners as passive to improve performance in newer browsers.
 * Disabled interaction observation on forms that post to other domains.

#### 5.0

_Release Date – 26 July 2022_

 * Added a new feature to catch spammers by observing how they interact with the
   page.

For older changelog entries, please see the [additional changelog.txt file](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/akismet/trunk/changelog.txt)
delivered with the plugin.

## Commercial plugin

This plugin is free but offers additional paid commercial upgrades or support. [View support](https://akismet.com/getting-started/free-or-paid)

## Meta

 *  Version **5.6**
 *  Last updated **5 months ago**
 *  Active installations **6+ million**
 *  WordPress version ** 5.8 or higher **
 *  Tested up to **6.9.4**
 *  PHP version ** 7.2 or higher **
 *  Languages
 * [Albanian](https://sq.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Amharic](https://am.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Arabic](https://ar.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Assamese](https://as.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
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   [Chinese (Taiwan)](https://tw.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Croatian](https://hr.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Czech](https://cs.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Danish](https://da.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
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   [English (UK)](https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [English (US)](https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Esperanto](https://eo.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Finnish](https://fi.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [French (Belgium)](https://fr-be.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [French (Canada)](https://fr-ca.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
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   [Japanese](https://ja.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Javanese](https://jv.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Korean](https://ko.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Kurdish (Sorani)](https://ku.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
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   [Lower Sorbian](https://dsb.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Norwegian (Bokmål)](https://nb.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Norwegian (Nynorsk)](https://nn.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Pashto](https://ps.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Persian](https://fa.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Persian (Afghanistan)](https://fa-af.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Polish](https://pl.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Portuguese (Angola)](https://pt-ao.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
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   [Romanian](https://ro.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Russian](https://ru.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Serbian](https://sr.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Slovak](https://sk.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Spanish (Argentina)](https://es-ar.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Spanish (Chile)](https://cl.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
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   [Spanish (Venezuela)](https://ve.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Swedish](https://sv.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Tagalog](https://tl.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Thai](https://th.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Turkish](https://tr.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Ukrainian](https://uk.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   [Upper Sorbian](https://hsb.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/), [Vietnamese](https://vi.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/),
   and [Welsh](https://cy.wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/).
 *  [Translate into your language](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/akismet)
 * Tags
 * [anti-spam](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/anti-spam/)[antispam](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/antispam/)
   [comments](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/comments/)[contact form](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/contact-form/)
   [spam](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/spam/)
 *  [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/akismet/advanced/)

## Ratings

 4.7 out of 5 stars.

 *  [  1,028 5-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/?filter=5)
 *  [  62 4-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/?filter=4)
 *  [  14 3-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/?filter=3)
 *  [  13 2-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/?filter=2)
 *  [  58 1-star reviews     ](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/?filter=1)

[Add my review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/#new-post)

[See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/reviews/)

## Contributors

 *   [ Automattic ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/automattic/)
 *   [ Matt Mullenweg ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/matt/)
 *   [ Ryan Boren ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ryan/)
 *   [ Andy Skelton ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andy/)
 *   [ Michael Adams (mdawaffe) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mdawaffe/)
 *   [ Tellyworth ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/tellyworth/)
 *   [ Joseph Scott ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/josephscott/)
 *   [ Dave Martin (lessbloat) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/lessbloat/)
 *   [ Eoin Gallagher ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/eoigal/)
 *   [ Christopher Finke ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/cfinke/)
 *   [ Greg ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jgs/)
 *   [ Josh Smith ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/procifer/)
 *   [ Stephane Daury (stephdau) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/stephdau/)
 *   [ kbrownkd (a11n) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kbrownkd/)
 *   [ bluefuton ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/bluefuton/)
 *   [ Derek Springer ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/derekspringer/)
 *   [ Lisa Schuyler ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/lschuyler/)
 *   [ Andy Perdomo (a11n) ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/andyperdomo/)
 *   [ Anti-Spam ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/akismetantispam/)

## Support

Issues resolved in last two months:

     1 out of 6

 [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/akismet/)