What is DlvrItFeedFetcher?

DlvrItFeedFetcher is a bot in the feed fetchers category, operated by dlvr.it.

Bot name
DlvrItFeedFetcher
Operator
dlvr.it
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Yes
robots.txt user agent
DlvrItFeedFetcher
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About DlvrItFeedFetcher

dlvr.it RSS feed fetcher service.

Feed fetchers poll RSS and Atom feeds for readers, aggregators and podcast apps. They usually request feeds only, so they are cheap to allow. Watch for fetchers that pull full pages at high rates.

DlvrItFeedFetcher user agent

DlvrItFeedFetcher identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • dlvr.it/1.0 (+http://dlvr.it/fetcher)

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 DlvrItFeedFetcher in robots.txt

DlvrItFeedFetcher 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 DlvrItFeedFetcher from the whole site

User-agent: DlvrItFeedFetcher
Disallow: /

Block DlvrItFeedFetcher from some folders

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

Allow DlvrItFeedFetcher only on some folders

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

Allow DlvrItFeedFetcher and block other crawlers

User-agent: DlvrItFeedFetcher
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: DlvrItFeedFetcher group, DlvrItFeedFetcher ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take DlvrItFeedFetcher from DlvrItFeedFetcher's user agent; check dlvr.it'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. DlvrItFeedFetcher may not follow the rule. DlvrItFeedFetcher 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 dlvr.it use different names and rules.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send DlvrItFeedFetcher's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by dlvr.it's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real DlvrItFeedFetcher from a fake one.

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

Who should care about DlvrItFeedFetcher

Publishers

DlvrItFeedFetcher fetches pages when your links are shared or syndicated. Keep it allowed so previews and feeds work, but leave it out of page views and ad requests.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

When ads or posts are shared, DlvrItFeedFetcher fetches the landing page. Those hits are not clicks, so keep them out of campaign reports.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Product links shared in chats and feeds are fetched by DlvrItFeedFetcher. Keep it allowed so previews show the right image and price.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Allow DlvrItFeedFetcher on public pages so shared links preview well, and keep it off the app.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block DlvrItFeedFetcher with Transfon Security

robots.txt is a request, not an enforcement. Transfon Security shows DlvrItFeedFetcher 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 DlvrItFeedFetcher on your site

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

Frequently asked questions

What is DlvrItFeedFetcher?

DlvrItFeedFetcher is a bot in the feed fetchers category, operated by dlvr.it. dlvr.it RSS feed fetcher service.

Does DlvrItFeedFetcher respect robots.txt?

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

How do I block DlvrItFeedFetcher?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block DlvrItFeedFetcher?

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

Should I block DlvrItFeedFetcher?

Feed fetchers poll RSS and Atom feeds for readers, aggregators and podcast apps. They usually request feeds only, so they are cheap to allow. Watch for fetchers that pull full pages at high rates.

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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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