Peter’s Custom Anti-Spam
by Peter · Security
Also makes 3 other plugins · 610+ installs across the portfolio →
Stop a lot of spambots from polluting your site by making visitors identify a custom word displayed as an image before commenting.
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
C 61/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈250 estimated
Momentum
-10%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: “anti spam”, “captcha” and “comments” 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.
61 health vs 66 average across 1,789 Security plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.3%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 64.7K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Security plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,061 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.
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.
Room to improve
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 687 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.3.14; the current branch is 7.1
4.0★ over 1 review, weighted for review count to 4.1★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 687 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| anti spam your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| captcha your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| comments your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| spam your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 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
- “anti spam”, “captcha” and “comments” 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 · 1,491 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 231 · 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 1 Nov 2026.
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.
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 78% 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 11 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 6 Oct 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Bruno Tritsch11.5y ago
Bonjour, J’ai testé avec succès cette extension que j’ai traduite en français. Vous pouvez obtenir cette traduction française gratuitement ici 😉 Il y a juste deux expressions visibles des internautes qui ne sont pas prises en compte, mais j’en avertis le créateur.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceAll 2 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (3.2.4). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2023-10-12 CVE-2023-45759 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 3.2.2 Patched in 3.2.3
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
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.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
3 of 8 pass · checked 1 Nov 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 4 headings and 4 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,119 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 2 of 4 tags appear in the text; "captcha", "comments" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-12-03 300+ → 200+ down after 82 days in tier
- 2025-09-12 200+ → 300+ up after 86 days in tier
- 2025-06-18 300+ → 200+ down after 519 days in tier
- 2024-01-16 400+ → 300+ down after 24 days in tier
- 2023-12-23 300+ → 400+ up after 51 days in tier
- 2023-11-02 400+ → 300+ down after 282 days in tier
- 2023-01-24 500+ → 400+ down after 112 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 600+ → 500+ down after 413 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 -
Gravity Forms Zero Spam 100K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags A -
Spam Destroyer 5K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags B -
Invisible Anti-Spam & CAPTCHA — reCAPTCHA Alternative for All Forms 5K+ installs · 4.7★ · 3 shared tags A -
Kama SpamBlock 4K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Peter’s Custom Anti-Spam into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/peters-custom-anti-spam-image" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Peter’s Custom Anti-Spam — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Peter’s Custom Anti-Spam: 200+ active installs, 4.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-04. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/peters-custom-anti-spam-image
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