What is Barkrowler?

Barkrowler is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by Babbar.

Bot name
Barkrowler
Operator
Babbar
Category
SEO Crawlers
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Yes
robots.txt user agent
Barkrowler
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About Barkrowler

SEO web crawler to identify web page popularity and thematic

SEO crawlers map links, keywords and technical issues for SEO tools and backlink databases. They help the tool's customers, often your competitors, rather than you. Rate limit or block the ones you do not use.

Barkrowler user agent

Barkrowler identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; Barkrowler/0.9; +https://babbar.tech/crawler)

Anyone can copy a user agent string. Transfon Security also checks where each request comes from, so a request that claims to be a known crawler but comes from the wrong network is treated as a fake, not as the real crawler.

How to block Barkrowler in robots.txt

Barkrowler follows robots.txt, so these rules stop it crawling the paths you choose. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block Barkrowler from the whole site

User-agent: Barkrowler
Disallow: /

Block Barkrowler from some folders

User-agent: Barkrowler
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow Barkrowler only on some folders

User-agent: Barkrowler
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow Barkrowler and block other crawlers

User-agent: Barkrowler
Allow: /

User-agent: *
Disallow: /

Things to know

  • Each host needs its own file. Rules on www.example.com do not apply to shop.example.com.
  • A crawler obeys only the most specific group that names it. Once you add a User-agent: Barkrowler group, Barkrowler ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take Barkrowler from Barkrowler's user agent; check Babbar's own documentation if it publishes a different robots.txt name.
  • Crawlers cache robots.txt, so changes can take up to a day to apply. Disallow stops crawling but does not remove pages already collected or indexed.

Limits of robots.txt

  1. Barkrowler may not follow the rule. Barkrowler says it follows robots.txt, but nothing enforces that. Changes can take a day to apply, the operator can change its policy, and other crawlers from Babbar use different names and rules.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send Barkrowler's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Babbar's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real Barkrowler from a fake one.

Treat robots.txt as a statement of your policy, and enforce it where requests arrive.

Who should care about Barkrowler

Publishers

Barkrowler works for an SEO tool's customers, often your competitors. It adds server load without readers, so rate limit or block it unless you use the tool.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

SEO crawlers map landing pages and links for competitor research. Keep Barkrowler's visits out of campaign data.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Barkrowler can map your catalogue, prices and site structure for competitors. Block it unless you use the tool yourself.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Allow Barkrowler only if your team uses the tool; otherwise rate limit it on docs and marketing pages.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block Barkrowler with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows Barkrowler by name in the Top Bots report, so you can see how often it visits and which pages it reads. Block or allow it with a User Agent rule, or slow it down with a rate limit decision rule.

Transfon Security

Control Barkrowler on your site

  • See every Barkrowler visit and the pages it reads
  • Spot bots that fake trusted crawler names
  • Block, allow or rate limit Barkrowler with one rule
  • Works with or without robots.txt support

Frequently asked questions

What is Barkrowler?

Barkrowler is a bot in the SEO crawlers category, operated by Babbar. SEO web crawler to identify web page popularity and thematic

Does Barkrowler respect robots.txt?

Yes. Barkrowler follows robots.txt, so a Disallow rule for the Barkrowler user agent stops it from crawling the paths you list.

How do I block Barkrowler?

Add "User-agent: Barkrowler" followed by "Disallow: /" to the robots.txt file at the root of your site. To enforce it, block requests whose user agent contains "Barkrowler/" at your WAF. In Transfon Security that is one User Agent block rule.

Is robots.txt enough to block Barkrowler?

No. robots.txt is voluntary, so Barkrowler may not follow it, and anyone can send Barkrowler's user agent, so a fake Barkrowler ignores your rule. Enforce the rule where requests arrive, at your WAF, and check the source network.

Should I block Barkrowler?

SEO crawlers map links, keywords and technical issues for SEO tools and backlink databases. They help the tool's customers, often your competitors, rather than you. Rate limit or block the ones you do not use.

Related bots

All SEO crawlers · Full bot directory

See Which Bots Visit Your Site

Transfon Security identifies every bot in this directory in your traffic reports, flags fake search crawlers, and lets you allow, block or rate limit each bot.

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