What is Meta-ExternalTest?

Meta-ExternalTest is an AI agent in the AI assistants and agents category, operated by Meta.

Bot name
Meta-ExternalTest
Operator
Meta
Type
AI agent
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
meta-externaltest
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
Yes

About Meta-ExternalTest

Meta bot used to test external integrations.

AI assistants fetch pages on demand when a user asks a chatbot or an agent to read, summarise or act on a URL. Each request is tied to a person, but the visit carries no ad impressions or analytics. Decide per agent whether the value is worth the load.

Meta-ExternalTest user agent

Meta-ExternalTest identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • meta-externaltest/1.1

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 Meta-ExternalTest in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether Meta-ExternalTest follows robots.txt. Add a rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped. robots.txt is a plain text file at the root of your domain, such as https://example.com/robots.txt.

Block Meta-ExternalTest from the whole site

User-agent: meta-externaltest
Disallow: /

Block Meta-ExternalTest from some folders

User-agent: meta-externaltest
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /search

Allow Meta-ExternalTest only on some folders

User-agent: meta-externaltest
Allow: /blog/
Disallow: /

Allow Meta-ExternalTest and block other crawlers

User-agent: meta-externaltest
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: meta-externaltest group, Meta-ExternalTest ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take meta-externaltest from Meta-ExternalTest's user agent; check Meta'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. Meta-ExternalTest may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that Meta-ExternalTest follows it. Check your logs after adding a rule.
  2. The user agent could be fake. robots.txt matches the name a request claims. Anyone can send Meta-ExternalTest's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Meta's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real Meta-ExternalTest from a fake one.

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

Who should care about Meta-ExternalTest

Publishers

Meta-ExternalTest reads pages for a person who asked an AI about them. The visit carries no ad impressions, so exclude it from ad requests and decide whether it may read paywalled content.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

Agent visits can click through landing pages and fill in forms. Exclude Meta-ExternalTest from conversions so campaign optimisation is based on people.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Agents like Meta-ExternalTest can compare prices and may soon place orders. Decide whether agents may reach checkout, and verify them before they do.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

Meta-ExternalTest can sign up, log in and call endpoints on a user's behalf. Rate limit it on sign-up and API routes, where fake trials and abuse start.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block Meta-ExternalTest with Transfon Security

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is Meta-ExternalTest?

Meta-ExternalTest is an AI agent in the AI assistants and agents category, operated by Meta. Meta bot used to test external integrations.

Does Meta-ExternalTest respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether Meta-ExternalTest follows robots.txt. Add a robots.txt rule, then check your logs to see that it stopped, and block it by user agent if it did not.

How do I block Meta-ExternalTest?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block Meta-ExternalTest?

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

Should I block Meta-ExternalTest?

AI assistants fetch pages on demand when a user asks a chatbot or an agent to read, summarise or act on a URL. Each request is tied to a person, but the visit carries no ad impressions or analytics. Decide per agent whether the value is worth the load.

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