Disable Embeds
by Pascal Birchler · Uncategorized
Also makes 3 other plugins · 43.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
Don’t like the enhanced embeds in WordPress 4.4? Easily disable the feature using this plugin.
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
A 85/100
no flags
Active installs
10K+
≈15K estimated
Momentum
+35%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “embedding” and “deactivate” to your wp.org tags. You rank #11 and #21 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 3 listed these are the slots worth spending.
85 health vs 58 average across 25,737 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.1%
of downloads still active
At least 10K of 319.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,769 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 12 reviews to 2025-06-09Reviewers call it a set and forget way to strip embed bloat, and the only complaints are older ones from people who expected it to block YouTube or SoundCloud embeds too.
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
Well tuned across the board
Updated 73 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
4.3★ over 20 reviews, smoothed to 4.16★ and held back under 25 reviews
3 of 5 tags set · short description in place
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.
35
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.7
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
17%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.7
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| embeds your tag | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| disable embeds | #1 | #2 | 0 |
| oembed your tag | #11 | #15 | up 3 |
| disable | #16 | #16 | up 1 |
| embedding | #11 | #16 | down 1 |
| embed your tag | #21 | #18 | down 1 |
| deactivate | #21 | #19 | down 5 |
| disable site | #19 | #19 | 0 |
| disable plugins | #24 | #22 | 0 |
| plugin disable | #24 | #24 | — |
| disable plugin | #24 | #22 | — |
20 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 11 listed. 9 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Add “embedding” and “deactivate” to your wp.org tags. You rank #11 and #21 for them without listing them, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 3 listed these are the slots worth spending.
- One page off on “oembed”. #11 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 10.9K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank vs rivals
wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
1.6y ago
latest release · v1.5.0 · 8 Apr 2025
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 91% run the current release. 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 “10K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 3.4 years ago; the previous band took 4.6 years to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 15 Apr 2021
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ TraceMyIP1.4y ago
Finally, a no-fuss plugin that does exactly what it promises! Disable Embeds by Pascal Birchler is perfect if you’re tired of WordPress’s automatic embed features slowing down your site. Just activate and boom – no more unwanted embeds cluttering your content or others embedding your posts without permission. Love how it removes all the JavaScript bloat too. The best part? It’s reversible – just deactivate when you need embeds back. Clean, lightweight, and effective!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Jules Colle5.2y ago
just what i needed
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Anonymous6.3y ago
An easy way to drop some weight if you don’t need the functionality that the plugin disables. For me this has been a “set and forget” plugin.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Sergei Predvoditelev7.2y ago
Use this plugin several years. Work fine!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ thdnunes7.3y ago
I like the approach of plugins like this. Simple and super useful. Thank you!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ webnetaust7.7y ago
pointless updating if it doesn’t work after WP 4.4.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wzshop8.0y ago
Not working
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ewerkstatt8.3y ago
Klappt nicht bei mir, weder bei YouTube noch bei SoundCloud. Wenn es das aber nicht kann, warum heisst es nicht anders? Unter Disable Embeds verstehe ich alle möglichen Embeds, also auch YT, Twitter oder SoundCloud. This topic was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by ewerkstatt.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.5.0 Updated against WordPress 5.7 1.5.0
- — Version 1.4.0 Updated against WordPress 5.0 1.4.0
- — Version 1.3.0 Updated against WordPress 4.6 Beta 2 Removes a new embeds filter introduced in WordPress 4.5.3 1.3.0
- — Version 1.2.0 Updated against WordPress 4.4 Beta 3. Removes all embeds rewrite rules on plugin activation. 1.2.0
- — Version 1.1.0 Updated against WordPress 4.4 Beta 2. 1.1.0
- — Version 1.0.0 Initial release. 1.0.0
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.4.8 · WP 5.7
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
3 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 "Don’t like the enhanced embeds in WordPress 4.4? Easily disable the feature using this plugin."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Block editor.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 342 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 3 tags appear in the text; "oembed" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2023-06-24 20K+ → 10K+ down after 1696 days in tier
- 2018-11-01 10K+ → 20K+ up after 273 days in tier
- 2018-02-01 8K+ → 10K+ up after 286 days in tier
- 2017-04-21 6K+ → 8K+ up after 180 days in tier
- 2016-10-23 4K+ → 6K+ up after 80 days in tier
- 2016-08-04 2K+ → 4K+ up after 154 days in tier
- 2016-03-03 1K+ → 2K+ up after 30 days in tier
- 2016-02-02 800+ → 1K+ up after 32 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).
-
Embed PDF Viewer 20K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
oEmbed Plus 4K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags D -
Embedly 2K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags B - W Wistia WordPress Plugin 2K+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags D
- R Responsive Video Embeds 2K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags D
- G Github Embed 1K+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Disable Embeds into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/disable-embeds" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Disable Embeds — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Disable Embeds: 10K+ active installs, 4.3★ (20 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/disable-embeds
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