Disable Trackbacks
by Automattic · Security
Also makes 78 other plugins · 18.2M+ installs across the portfolio →
Globally disables trackbacks to cut down on spam. Very, very few people legitimately use trackbacks and spammers love them, so it's worthy tradeo …
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
D 45/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈250 estimated
Momentum
-13%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “spam” and “trackback” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
45 health vs 66 average across 1,776 Security plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.7%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 12.1K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with 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.
Removal-risk signals
51/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 18+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- No tested-up-to version. The listing declares no "Tested up to" version.
Details
Recent review vibe
read from the latest 1 reviews to 2014-06-17The single review here calls it useful and simple to use, and that's the only feedback on record.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 6606 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
No "Tested up to" declared, treated as a major version behind
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
2 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 6606 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| spam your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| trackback your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
2 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 2 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “spam” and “trackback” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,487 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 160 · 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.
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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% 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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 8 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 16 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ ark7412.4y ago
Very useful and simple to use. Great work. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 25 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 No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("use this"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,323 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 2 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-03-05 300+ → 200+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-03-02 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-03-01 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-28 200+ → 300+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-02-27 300+ → 200+ down after 302 days in tier
- 2025-05-01 400+ → 300+ down after 291 days in tier
- 2024-07-14 500+ → 400+ down after 242 days in tier
- 2023-11-15 600+ → 500+ down after 129 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).
-
Hide Trackbacks 300+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Akismet Anti-spam: Spam Protection 5M+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening 600K+ installs · 4.2★ · 1 shared tag A -
WP Mail Logging 300K+ installs · 4.7★ · 1 shared tag A -
ReCaptcha v2 for Contact Form 7 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Disable Trackbacks into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/disable-trackbacks" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Disable Trackbacks — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Disable Trackbacks: 200+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/disable-trackbacks
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