Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

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.

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.

146 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 102 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.

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

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 62% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

Crossed into this band 23 months ago; the previous band took 4.1 years to cross, which places it about 54% of the way through.

1. ★★★★★ basstrid

   1.5y ago

   I absolutely recommend this plugin. I built a learning platform with ACF and can now grant access to users with various possibilites (with and without WooCommerce purchases).What I especially like is that I can hide the admin bar and the dashboard access to logged in users.

   Read on wp.org ↗
2. ★★★★★ dekino

   2.2y ago

   After installing this plug-in it is no longer possible to open an article on the blog, when I click on an article I always end up on the homepage, it happens with all the articles.I tried to contact support from the official site but it requires a license number that I do not have, as I use the free version for testing.

   Read on wp.org ↗
3. ★★★★★ Oaz

   2.5y ago

   Been using this plugin for several years on different websites, and it is just great, very efficient. I had a problem once and got personnalized help really fast.Thanks for this plugin ! This topic was modified 2 years, 2 months ago by Oaz.

   Read on wp.org ↗
4. ★★★★★ anandaxp

   2.7y ago

   I wanted to appoint some authors (Not contributor – so that they can upload images etc) and then limit their capabilities to not publish posts. this plugin was the perfect and easiest solution for anyone!

   Read on wp.org ↗
5. ★★★★★ erdeme61

   3.0y ago

   Plugin gets the job done. It has a very simple UI to understand. Rules are really handy and I achieved the result I wanted in no time. Only downside was I couldn’t make it work alongside with litespeed caching. But I think that has nothing to do with the plugin. I would recommend everybody to give it a try!

   Read on wp.org ↗
6. ★★★★★ The Hemp Collect

   3.8y ago

   It doesnt look like yours does this either so correct me if Im wrong…but how have you and no one else that I can find not made one thats blocks the customer list on the backend so SEO agencies and marketers on peoples site cant steal customer lists…come on. Please lmk if you add this or if I missed that your plugin has this feature. This topic was modified 3 years, 6 months ago by The Hemp Collect.

   Read on wp.org ↗
7. ★★★★★ fmardito

   4.3y ago

   I installed this plugin to test some features and it didn’t had what I was looking for. After some tests, I tried to uninstall it, but now I can’t access any pages, can’t create any new posts, pages or categories. My site is now useless, I will need to reinstall it fresh from the beginning and will loose a week of work. DON’T INSTALL IT because it doesn’t undo things if you need to remove it.

   Read on wp.org ↗
8. ★★★★★ mozboz

   4.4y ago

   2.3.1 release of this plugin took down all sites which auto upgraded to it. Pretty awful development process with 1000’s of sites likely affected – it was a preventable/testable bug.

   Read on wp.org ↗

Recent releases and news for this plugin

1. — Version 2.8 [new] member trigger – user registration [new] handle login redirect for non-admin access [new] performance and ui improvements [new] wordpress 6.8 support [new] minimum wordpress version 5.8 [new] minimum php version 7. 2.8
2. — Version 2.7.1 [new] performance improvements 2.7.1
3. — Version 2.7 [new] ui and performance improvements [new] wordpress 6.5 support [new] minimum wordpress version 5.5 [new] minimum php version 7.1 [fixed] memberships now removed on user deletion [fixed] improved compatibility with wpm 2.7
4. — Version 2.6.1 [new] ui and performance improvements [updated] freemius sdk [fixed] timezone discrepancies in level memberships [fixed] conflict with other plugins erroneously manipulating membership queries 2.6.1
5. — Version 2.6 [new] rest api content protection [new] control how content is displayed in lists [updated] buddypress 12 compatibility [fixed] compatibility with polylang and wpml [fixed] xss vulnerability when editing levels 2.6
6. — Version 2.5 [new] admin ability to extend, search, and sort memberships [new] member trigger – givewp donation [new] wp multisite network support [new] greatly improved membership data storage [new] wordpress 6.4 support [new] minim 2.5

All 5 disclosed vulnerabilities are patched in the current version (2.8.3). Sites still on an older version should update.

1. Patched Medium · 5.3 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection <= 2.8.1 - Missing Authorization ↗
   2026-10-09 CVE-2026-62040 Missing Authorization Affects <= 2.8.1 Patched in 2.8.2
2. Patched Medium · 5.3 Restrict User Access <= 2.8 - Unauthenticated Content Protection Bypass ↗
   2026-08-31 CVE-2026-78153 Protection Mechanism Failure Affects <= 2.8 Patched in 2.8.1
3. Patched Medium · 6.1 Restrict User Access – Membership Plugin with Force <= 2.5 - Reflected Cross-Site Scripting ↗
   2024-03-18 CVE-2024-29138 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects <= 2.5 Patched in 2.6
4. Patched Medium · 5.3 Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection <= 2.5 - Information Exposure ↗
   2024-02-26 CVE-2024-0687 Improper Access Control Affects <= 2.5 Patched in 2.6
5. Patched Medium · 6.3 Freemius SDK <= 2.4.2 - Missing Authorization Checks ↗
   2022-03-04 CVE-2022-4974 Missing Authorization Affects < 2.2.2 Patched in 2.2.2

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.9

Translated into 132 languages, 1 at 90% or more

Plus 108 more locales with partial translations.

Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

1. 2024-12-09 20K+ → 10K+ down after 1489 days in tier
2. 2020-11-11 10K+ → 20K+ up after 563 days in tier
3. 2019-04-28 4K+ → 10K+ up after 670 days in tier
4. 2017-06-27 1K+ → 4K+ up after 512 days in tier
5. 2016-02-01 900+ → 1K+ up after 92 days in tier
6. 2015-11-01 200+ → 900+ up

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 this report card

Drop a live Pulse card for Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.

Restrict User Access – Ultimate Membership & Content Protection: 10K+ active installs, 4.3★ (94 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/restrict-user-access