HumanGate protects your WordPress site from AI training crawlers, search engine bots, and unauthorized scraping bots. Add global refusal signals (meta tags, HTTP headers, robots.txt), actively block bots (AI crawlers, scrapers, etc.), and deter large-scale bot extraction with lightweight JavaScript
PricingFree downloadThe WordPress.org download is free. Pro versions, add-ons or external services may cost extra.
CompatibilityRequires WordPress 5.0 and PHP 7.4.
SourceWordPress plugins · Oct 21, 2026
01 / Source details
Aboutthistool.
HumanGate protects your WordPress site from AI training crawlers, search engine bots, and unauthorized scraping bots. Add global refusal signals (meta tags, HTTP headers, robots.txt), actively block bots (AI crawlers, scrapers, etc.), and deter large-scale bot extraction with lightweight JavaScript challenges—all without CAPTCHAs or heavy databases.
Perfect for: * Journalists protecting sensitive content * Activists and independent creators * Nonprofits and whistleblower support projects * Anyone wanting to opt out of AI training data collection
Core Features:
Block Search Engines – Clear, top-level setting to block all search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) via noindex/nofollow meta tags
Global AI Refusal – Adds AI-specific meta tags, HTTP headers (X-AI-Training), and robots.txt rules to refuse AI training crawlers
Active Enforcement Modes – Choose from Signals Only (default), Challenge Mode (JS verification), or Block Mode (403 Forbidden) for AI crawlers and other bots
Bot Challenge System – Automatically detects suspicious bot traffic patterns (burst traffic, sequential traversal, deep-link access) and serves lightweight JavaScript challenges to all bots—not just AI crawlers
Emergency Lockdown – One-click site lockdown with HTTP 451 responses and optional login-only access
SEO Plugin Compatible – Works seamlessly with Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All in One SEO, and other SEO plugins
Privacy-Focused Stats – Lightweight telemetry using WordPress transients (no database bloat, no IP storage)
Performance Optimized – DNS lookup caching and user agent pattern caching for faster response times
Whitelist Support – IP address and user agent whitelists to bypass blocking for trusted sources
How It Works:
01Block Search Engines – Optional setting to block all search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) using noindex/nofollow meta tags. This is a separate, clear setting at the top of the plugin configuration.
AI Refusal Signals – Adds AI-specific meta tags, HTTP headers, and robots.txt rules that tell AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, etc.) not to train on your content. This works independently from search engine blocking.
03Active Enforcement – Optionally block or challenge bots at the HTTP level: Signals Only (default): Sends refusal signals only
04Challenge Mode : Requires JavaScript execution verification for all bots
05Block Mode : Returns 403 Forbidden to AI crawlers and other unauthorized bots
06Selective Friction – Automatically detects bot scraping patterns and serves invisible JavaScript challenges to any suspicious traffic: Burst traffic detection (12+ pages in 5 seconds) – catches all bots, not just AI crawlers
08Deep-link access detection (direct access to old content)
09Auto-completing challenges (no user interaction required)
10Works against all types of bots: AI training crawlers, scrapers, data harvesters, etc.
11Emergency Lockdown – Instantly lock down your site with one toggle, returning HTTP 451 responses with optional login-only access.
Design Philosophy:
HumanGate doesn’t try to perfectly identify machines. Instead, it makes large-scale extraction economically inefficient while keeping the experience invisible to 99% of real human users. No CAPTCHAs, no heavy databases, just lightweight protection.
Development
For development, bug reports, and contributions, please visit the plugin’s GitHub repository at https://github.com/NomadBuilder/HumanGate
See it in action
Screenshots & previews.
Settings page showing AI Crawler Blocking section with enforcement mode cards (Signals Only, Challenge Mode, Block Mode) and Search Engine Blocking optionsStatistics dashboard with blocked crawler requests, top blocked user agent, top category, and "Blocked by Reason" table with tooltipsContent type control section showing per-post-type settings and per-post AI refusal controls
02 / Source details
Gettingstarted.
01Upload the humangate folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory, or install through the WordPress admin plugins page
02Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
03Navigate to HumanGate in the WordPress admin menu to configure settings
Quick Start:
The plugin works immediately with default settings (AI Signals Only mode, and search engines blocked by default). For maximum protection or to allow search engine indexing:
04Decide on Search Engine Indexing: By default, HumanGate blocks all search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) from indexing your site.
05To allow search engines to index your site, go to HumanGate -> Settings and uncheck “Block Search Engines”.
06If you want to allow search engines AND use “Block Mode” for AI crawlers, enable “Allow verified search engine bots” in the “Search Engine Blocking” section.
07Configure AI Crawler Blocking: Enable “AI Crawler Blocking” (enabled by default)
08Choose your enforcement mode: Signals Only – Recommended for most sites (sends AI refusal signals)
09Challenge Mode – Balances protection with user experience (challenges AI crawlers)
10Block Mode – Maximum protection (returns 403 Forbidden to AI crawlers)
11Content Type Control (Optional): Select which post types (posts, pages, custom types) should have blocking applied
12Both AI blocking and search engine blocking respect these settings
13You can also control this per individual post/page in the editor
14Optionally adjust bot challenge thresholds based on your traffic patterns
HumanGate includes a clear, top-level setting to “Block Search Engines” which adds noindex/nofollow meta tags. When this setting is enabled (default), your site will NOT appear in Google search results or any other search engine. If you want search engine indexing, disable the “Block Search Engines” setting. You can still block AI training crawlers independently using the enforcement modes. For maximum protection while allowing search engines, disable “Block Search Engines” and use Challenge or Block Mode with “Allow verified search engine bots” enabled. HumanGate uses reverse DNS verification to ensure only legitimate search engine bots (Google, Bing, etc.) are allowed, while blocking all other bots including AI training crawlers, scrapers, and data harvesters.
Does this work with Yoast SEO?
Yes! HumanGate automatically detects SEO plugins (Yoast SEO, Rank Math, All in One SEO, SEOPress, etc.) and appends its AI crawler blocks to your existing robots.txt file. Both plugins work together seamlessly—your SEO plugin manages the base robots.txt, and HumanGate adds AI crawler blocks.
Will this block legitimate users?
No. The bot challenge system is designed to be invisible to 99% of real users. It only triggers on suspicious bot-like patterns (like accessing 12+ pages in 5 seconds). If a legitimate user does see a challenge, it auto-completes in seconds without any interaction required—unlike CAPTCHAs. The system specifically targets bots (AI crawlers, scrapers, data harvesters) while allowing real human visitors.
What’s the performance impact?
Minimal. HumanGate uses WordPress transients (not database tables) for lightweight data storage. Search engine bot verification adds 100-500ms per verified request due to reverse DNS lookups, so it’s disabled by default. Only enable it if you’re using Block Mode and need search engine indexing.
Can I use this with other security plugins?
Yes, HumanGate is compatible with most security and caching plugins. It uses standard WordPress hooks and doesn’t interfere with other plugins’ functionality. If you’re using a firewall plugin, make sure it’s not blocking HumanGate’s challenge system.
What bots does this block?
HumanGate can block both AI training crawlers and other unauthorized bots. The bot challenge system works against all types of bots , not just AI crawlers—including scrapers, data harvesters, price monitoring bots, and more. For specific AI crawler blocking, HumanGate targets known AI training crawlers including GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot, CCBot (Common Crawl), Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, and many others. See the plugin settings for the complete list of AI crawlers, and note that the challenge system catches all suspicious bot traffic regardless of user agent.
Can I selectively apply AI refusal to specific post types?
Yes! HumanGate includes granular content type control—you can select which post types (posts, pages, custom post types) should have AI blocking and/or search engine blocking applied. Both settings respect the same content type selection. You can also control this per individual post/page in the editor. For example, if you enable AI blocking but only select “posts” in content type control, it will only apply to posts, not to pages or other content types.
How does the bot challenge system work?
When suspicious bot traffic patterns are detected (regardless of whether it’s an AI crawler, scraper, or other bot), HumanGate serves a lightweight JavaScript challenge that runs automatically in the browser. It collects browser entropy (screen size, timezone, performance data) and verifies it server-side. Real browsers pass instantly; bots without JavaScript engines (like curl, wget, Python scrapers) stall or fail. This works against all types of bots , not just AI training crawlers.
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