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Block Archive.org via WordPress robots.txt
Blocks the archive.org bots through the WordPress virtual robots.txt file.
The facts
- Active installs
- 400+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 2 Feb 2026
- Added
- Aug 2018
- Requires WP
- 4.0.1
- Tested up to
- WP 6.9.7
- Requires PHP
- 5.5
- Downloads
- 7,730
Our analysis
AI-assistedBlock Archive.org via WordPress robots.txt is a WordPress plugin that modifies the virtual robots.txt file to prevent Archive.org bots from crawling and indexing your site. This means that Archive.org will not store backups of your website, and you will lose access to previous versions if the site is deleted from their index.
This plugin is suitable for users who want to ensure that their site content is not archived by Archive.org. However, it is essential to understand the implications of using this plugin, as once activated, the block is permanent unless the plugin is removed, which will not restore any previous archives.
Best for: This plugin suits website owners who want to prevent their content from being archived by Archive.org.
What it does well
- ✓Adds lines to robots.txt to block Archive.org bots
- ✓Prevents crawling and indexing of your site by Archive.org
- ✓Available in English and Spanish
- ✓Requires PHP version 5.5 or greater
Where it falls short
- •Permanent block on Archive.org indexing once activated
- •Older site versions cannot be restored after deletion from Archive.org
- •User must understand the implications before activation
Verdict
This plugin provides a straightforward solution for blocking Archive.org bots, but users must carefully consider the long-term effects of its activation.
From the developer
apasionados's own description of Block Archive.org via WordPress robots.txt, lightly tidied.
This plugin adds lines to the virtual robots.txt file (that WordPress creates automagically if the file is not present physically on the server) to block the archive.org bots.
Please be aware of what this plugin does exactly: If you activate the plugin it will add some lines to the robots.txt file to tell the Archive.org bots not to crawl and index your page. This means that they won’t store a backup of your site and you won’t be able to browse the different versions of the website through time.
Please keep in mind that if you activate this plugin and your site is deleted from the archive.org index, you can’t undo this. If you remove the plugin and the block of the archive.org bot, they’ll start again crawling and indexing the website from that moment, but all the older information is lost. Be carefull and think if this is what you want to do!. If you mess it nobody will not be able to help you (neither we or archive.org).
Please only activate this plugin if you know what you’re doing.
What can I do with this plugin?
This plugin adds the necessary lines to the virtual robots.txt file that WordPress creates automagically to block the archive.org bots.
What ideas is this plugin based on?
None. We needed a fast solution to add these lines to the robots.txt file and this was the solution we coded.
System requirements
PHP version 5.5 or greater.
Block archive.org bots robots.txt Plugin in your Language!
The first release is avaliable in English and Spanish. In the “languages” folder we have included the necessary files to translate this plugin.
If you would like the plugin in your language and you’re good at translating, please use the native WordPress Translation functionality.
New to Translating a plugin? First read through the Translator Handbook, then select your locale at Translating WordPress and finally go to the translation page for this plugin to translate it.
Further Reading
You can access the description of the plugin in Spanish at: Block archive.org bots robots.txt en español.
Contact
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