Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks
by Ajay · Security
Also makes 10 other plugins · 67.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
Auto-Close keeps your site clean by automatically closing comments, pingbacks, and trackbacks—so you can focus on content, not cleanup.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 84/100
Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈290 estimated
Momentum
+67%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “anti spam” and “comments” for “closing” and “comment cleanup”. “anti spam” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “closing” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “comments” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “comment cleanup” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
84 health vs 66 average across 1,775 Security plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.8%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 24.5K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Security plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,059 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Security plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 6 releases in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 23 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.13★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
39
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 25d
22%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 25d
-0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| auto close | #1 | #6 | — |
| pingbacks | #2 | #13 | down 1 |
| close | #3 | #17 | up 2 |
| trackbacks | #3 | #17 | 0 |
| pingback your tag | #4 | #18 | 0 |
| trackback | #3 | #18 | 0 |
| automatically close | #2 | #15 | 0 |
| comments auto close | #2 | #17 | — |
| close site | #10 | #20 | 0 |
| closing | #23 | #24 | — |
| comment cleanup | #23 | #23 | down 1 |
| anti spam your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| comments your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| revisions your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| spam your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
33 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 11 listed. 22 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “anti spam” and “comments” for “closing” and “comment cleanup”. “anti spam” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “closing” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “comments” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “comment cleanup” sits at #23 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 520 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Actively maintainedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
6
releases in the last 12 months
23d ago
latest release · v3.2.1 · 8 Oct 2026
16
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 19 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 300.
At the current install trend, crossing 300+ in roughly 1115 days.
Install history since 28 Mar 2016
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ HDsupport11.6y ago
Even though it states that it may not work with the new ver 4.1.1 of word press, it still performs amazingly!! For anyone that has forgotten to uncheck comments, ping, track backs, this is the plugin for you!!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
4 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 5 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 5 of 5 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,478 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "anti-spam" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-12 300+ → 200+ down after 31 days in tier
- 2026-09-11 200+ → 300+ up after 217 days in tier
- 2026-02-06 300+ → 200+ down after 177 days in tier
- 2025-08-13 200+ → 300+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-08-11 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-08-10 200+ → 300+ up after 31 days in tier
- 2025-07-10 300+ → 200+ down after 9 days in tier
- 2025-07-01 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 3 shared tags A -
Spam Destroyer 5K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags B -
Antispam 400+ installs · 3.9★ · 3 shared tags D -
Hide Trackbacks 300+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags A -
Antispam Bee 700K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/autoclose" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Auto-Close Comments, Pingbacks and Trackbacks: 200+ active installs, 5.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/autoclose
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