Restrict Anonymous Access
by Christian Leuenberg · Login & Users
Also makes 3 other plugins · 960+ installs across the portfolio →
Adds a shortcode to restrict content from anonymous users.
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 64/100
Stale · Few reviews
Active installs
70+
≈79 estimated
Momentum
+4%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “anonymous” and “anonymous post” to your wp.org tags. You rank #20 and #24 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 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
64 health vs 61 average across 2,203 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.8%
of downloads still active
At least 70 of 3.8K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,476 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users 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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 648 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.7.11; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 648 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| restrict anonymous | #3 | #15 | 0 |
| anonymous | #20 | #22 | down 1 |
| anonymous post | #24 | #23 | down 4 |
| access control your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| capabilities your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| restrict content your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| user access your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
3 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “anonymous” and “anonymous post” to your wp.org tags. You rank #20 and #24 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 4 listed these are the slots worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 127 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #18,200 to #19,000, alongside the other plugins at 70+ 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
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
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
1.8y ago
latest release · v1.2.1 · 21 Jan 2025
4
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
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 “70+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 20 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 80.
Install history since 17 Jul 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ cryptoli3.5y ago
Nice and lightweight, works great!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Thomas Rendleman8.4y ago
First I tried several plugins that are supposed to do the same thing. They did but hard to use or changed content inside the shortcode. Just got tired of messing around with it. I thought I could do an easy check on if the user was logged in and display data if he was. Well that theory is easier said than done. This programmer did a great job. Kept it simple but can give some quite complex results. Perfect and should be allowed into core, IMHO. Keep up the good work. I’ll be using this in every website I create. This topic was modified 8 years, 1 month ago by Thomas Rendleman.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ fregatte9.3y ago
I quite like this plugin; does what it says; is lightweight and not overloaded; easy to handle; no integration in the menue structure but no need for it. I was exactly looking for something like that an I am not disappointed. Thanks! 5 Stars from me! fregatte
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (1.2.1). Sites still on an older version should update.
- Patched Medium · 6.4 Restrict Anonymous Access <= 1.2 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Stored Cross-Site Scripting ↗2025-01-24 CVE-2025-24610 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 1.2 Patched in 1.2.1
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.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.7.1
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
1 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Adds a shortcode to restrict content from anonymous users."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! 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 0 headings and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 626 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 4 tags appear in the text ("access-control", "capabilities", "User Access" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-11 80+ → 70+ down after 25 days in tier
- 2026-09-16 70+ → 80+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-09-14 80+ → 70+ down after 14 days in tier
- 2026-08-31 70+ → 80+ up after 24 days in tier
- 2026-08-07 80+ → 70+ down after 38 days in tier
- 2026-06-30 70+ → 80+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2026-06-29 80+ → 70+ down after 3 days in tier
- 2026-06-26 70+ → 80+ up after 6 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).
- C Content management control — installs · 3.6★ · 3 shared tags
-
PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection 10K+ installs · 4.3★ · 2 shared tags A -
PublishPress Permissions: Access Control, Content Permissions, User Access 10K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
RoleMaster Suite – User Role Editor for E-Commerce, Membership & Admin Panel 700+ installs · 3.9★ · 2 shared tags B -
Membership & User Roles for WooCommerce (Automatic Role Changer) 400+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags B
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Restrict Anonymous Access into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/restrict-anonymous-access" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Restrict Anonymous Access — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Restrict Anonymous Access: 70+ active installs, 5.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/restrict-anonymous-access
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