WP.com mShots
recommended: observeWP.com mShots is a web fetcher operated by Automattic that captures webpage screenshots and thumbnails for the WordPress.com mShots service.
What it does
WP.com mShots usually makes a single request within seconds of a URL being shared, without crawling further. Traffic rises and falls with sharing activity, so a widely circulated link can produce a sharp burst of fetches.
How to identify it
User-agent contains any of:
WP.com mShots
robots.txt
Well-behaved crawlers honor robots.txt. To control WP.com mShots:
Allow full access
User-agent: WP.com mShots
Allow: /Block entirely
User-agent: WP.com mShots
Disallow: /
Grey-area scrapers ignore robots.txt. Botscope enforces your policy at the edge or origin regardless —
see how →
See WP.com mShots on your own site
Botscope shows every bot and AI agent hitting your site — and lets you allow, challenge, or block each one. Observe first, enforce when you're ready.
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