Description
In the age of AI, your valuable website content is a prime target for data crawlers from large tech companies. Bot Traffic Shield is your first line of defense against content theft and unauthorized scraping.
This lightweight yet powerful plugin identifies and blocks a wide range of AI bots and data scrapers before they can access and harvest your content, protecting your intellectual property while reducing unnecessary server load.
🛡️ Why You Need Bot Traffic Shield
- Protect Your Content – Stop AI companies from training their models on your hard work
- Reduce Server Load – Block unwanted traffic that wastes your bandwidth and resources
- SEO-Safe Blocking – Only blocks harmful bots; legitimate search engines like Google and Bing remain unaffected
- Take Control – Decide who can and cannot access your valuable content
✨ Key Features
Real-Time Bot Blocking
* Actively blocks bots by their User-Agent on every page request
* Immediate protection with zero configuration needed
Comprehensive Default Blocklist
* Pre-configured list of 20+ known AI crawlers and scrapers
* Includes ChatGPT-User, Google-Extended, GPTBot, CCBot, Bytespider, Amazonbot, Applebot, and more
* Regularly updated with new bot signatures
Advanced Logging & Analytics
* Track every blocked bot attempt with detailed logs
* View bot name, IP address, user agent, and timestamp
* Pagination system – Browse through logs easily (20 entries per page)
* Running statistics showing total blocked requests
CSV Export Capability
* Export your block logs to CSV format
* Filter exports by date range (7 days, 30 days, or all time)
* Perfect for analysis, reporting, or compliance
robots.txt Integration
* Automatically adds Disallow rules to your virtual robots.txt
* Provides an additional layer of protection for well-behaved bots
Fully Customizable
* Add your own custom User-Agent strings to block
* Simple textarea interface – one bot per line
* Enable/disable logging with a single toggle
* Master on/off switch for all blocking features
Modern, Intuitive Interface
* Beautiful, clean admin UI with tabbed navigation
* Modern toggle switches and card-based design
* Mobile-responsive admin panel
* No learning curve – start protecting immediately
Lightweight & Performance-Optimized
* Minimal impact on site speed
* Efficient code that runs before page load
* No external API calls or database queries on frontend
🎯 Who Is This Plugin For?
- Content Creators – Protect your articles, tutorials, and creative work
- Bloggers – Keep your unique content from being scraped
- News Sites – Prevent unauthorized content aggregation
- E-commerce – Protect product descriptions and pricing data
- Any WordPress Site – That values their content and server resources
🚀 How It Works
- Install and activate the plugin
- Bot Traffic Shield immediately starts blocking known bad bots
- Monitor blocked attempts in the logs
- Add custom bots to block as needed
- Export logs for analysis or record-keeping
No complicated setup. No API keys. No subscriptions.
🔒 Privacy & Security
- All data stays on your server
- No external services or third-party dependencies
- GDPR compliant – you control all logged data
- Logs can be cleared at any time by disabling logging
📊 Perfect For
✅ Reducing bandwidth costs
✅ Protecting original content
✅ Improving server performance
✅ Maintaining competitive advantage
✅ Preventing AI training on your data
Stop letting AI companies profit from your hard work. Install Bot Traffic Shield and take back control of your content today!
Privacy Policy
Bot Traffic Shield logs the following information when a bot is blocked (if logging is enabled):
* User-Agent string
* IP address
* Request timestamp
* Requested URL
All data is stored locally in your WordPress database. No information is sent to external servers. You can disable logging or clear logs at any time from the plugin settings.
Support
For support, feature requests, or bug reports:
* Visit our website: https://monarchwp.com/
* Email: info@monarchwp.com
Credits
Developed by MonarchWP
Screenshots
Modern settings interface with toggle switches and custom bot configuration 
Block log and statistics dashboard showing paginated bot blocking history 
Default blocklist showing all pre-configured AI crawlers and scrapers
Installation
Automatic Installation
- Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard
- Navigate to Plugins > Add New
- Search for “Bot Traffic Shield”
- Click Install Now and then Activate
- Go to Settings > Bot Traffic Shield to configure (optional)
Manual Installation
- Download the plugin zip file
- Upload the
bot-traffic-shieldfolder to/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the plugin through the Plugins menu in WordPress
- Navigate to Settings > Bot Traffic Shield to configure
Post-Installation
- Blocking is enabled by default upon activation
- Logging is enabled by default to track blocked bots
- Visit the settings page to customize your blocklist
- Check the Block Log & Stats tab to see blocked bots in real-time
FAQ
-
Will this affect my SEO or normal search engines?
-
No. Bot Traffic Shield specifically targets AI data crawlers and malicious scrapers. It does not block legitimate search engine crawlers like Googlebot, Bingbot, or other SEO-friendly bots. Your search rankings will remain completely unaffected.
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Which bots does it block by default?
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The plugin includes a comprehensive blocklist of 20+ known AI crawlers and scrapers, including:
- ChatGPT-User
- GPTBot
- Google-Extended
- CCBot
- Bytespider
- Amazonbot
- Applebot
- Claude-Web
- Anthropic-AI
- And many more…
You can view the complete default list in the Default Blocklist tab in settings.
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How do I add a custom bot to the blocklist?
-
- Go to Settings > Bot Traffic Shield
- Scroll to Custom User Agents to Block
- Enter the User-Agent string (one per line)
- Click Save Settings
Example: If you want to block “BadBot/1.0”, simply add that line to the textarea.
-
How do I export my block logs?
-
- Go to Settings > Bot Traffic Shield
- Click on the Block Log & Stats tab
- Scroll to the Export Logs (CSV) section
- Choose your date range (7 days, 30 days, or all time)
- Click Export CSV
The CSV file will download automatically with all blocked bot details.
-
Can I see which bots have been blocked?
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Yes! The Block Log & Stats tab shows:
* Date and time of each block
* Bot name
* Full User-Agent string
* IP address
* Total count of blocked requestsLogs are paginated for easy browsing (20 entries per page).
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What’s the difference between User-Agent blocking and robots.txt?
-
- robots.txt – A polite request that well-behaved bots follow (but can be ignored)
- User-Agent blocking – A hard block that forcibly denies access
This plugin uses both methods for maximum protection. The robots.txt is for compliant bots, while User-Agent blocking stops aggressive or malicious bots that ignore robots.txt.
-
Does this plugin slow down my website?
-
No. Bot Traffic Shield is designed to be extremely lightweight:
* Runs early in the WordPress load process
* Minimal database queries
* No external API calls
* Negligible performance impactIn fact, by blocking unwanted bots, you’ll likely see improved server performance.
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Can I temporarily disable blocking?
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Yes. Simply toggle the Enable Bot Blocking switch to OFF in the settings. You can re-enable it at any time without losing your custom configuration.
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Will I lose my logs if I disable logging?
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Yes. Disabling logging will clear all existing logs and stop recording new blocks. If you want to keep your logs, export them to CSV before disabling.
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Is this plugin compatible with caching plugins?
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Yes. Bot Traffic Shield works at a very early stage of WordPress, before most caching plugins, ensuring bots are blocked regardless of cache status.
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Can I use this with other security plugins?
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Yes. Bot Traffic Shield focuses specifically on bot blocking and works seamlessly alongside other security plugins like Wordfence, Sucuri, or iThemes Security.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.3 (2025-11-05)
- New: Pagination system for block logs (20 entries per page)
- New: CSV export with date range filtering (7 days, 30 days, all time)
- Improved: Modern, redesigned admin interface
- Improved: Better mobile responsiveness
- Enhanced: Code optimization and performance improvements
- Fixed: WordPress coding standards compliance
- Fixed: Proper escaping and sanitization throughout
1.0.2 (2025-10-25)
- New: Modern admin interface design
- New: Enhanced logging capabilities
- Improved: Overall performance optimizations
- Fixed: Various bug fixes
1.0.1 (2025-10-23)
- Fixed: Bug fixes
- Improved: Performance updates
1.0.0 (2025-10-15)
- Initial release
- Real-time bot blocking
- robots.txt integration
- Default blocklist of 20+ bots
- Logging and statistics
- Custom User-Agent blocking