What is PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving?

PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving is a bot in the web archivers category, operated by Pagefreezer.

Bot name
PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving
Operator
Pagefreezer
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
PageFreezer
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving

Pagefreezer Website Archiving is a compliance

Archivers save copies of pages to preserve the history of the web. Archived copies can be read outside your paywall or ads. Decide whether long term preservation matters more for your content.

PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving user agent

PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • PageFreezer (pagefreezer crawler; http://pagefreezer.com/pagefreezer-crawler/; [email protected])

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 PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving 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 PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving from the whole site

User-agent: PageFreezer
Disallow: /

Block PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving from some folders

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

Allow PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving only on some folders

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

Allow PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving and block other crawlers

User-agent: PageFreezer
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: PageFreezer group, PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving ignores your User-agent: * rules, so repeat any that should still apply.
  • The user agent name is not case sensitive. We take PageFreezer from PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving's user agent; check Pagefreezer'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. PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving may not follow the rule. robots.txt is a request that nothing enforces, and we have not confirmed that PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving 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 PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving's user agent, and a scraper using it is not bound by Pagefreezer's robots.txt policy. Only checking the source network tells a real PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving from a fake one.

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

Who should care about PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving

Publishers

Allow PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving if it is a service you use, and keep its visits out of page views and ad requests either way.

Transfon Security for publishers

Media buyers and advertisers

PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving is not a person. Exclude it from campaign and conversion data so reports reflect real visitors.

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

Allow PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving only if it works for your store, and keep it away from cart and checkout.

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

If PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving is a service you use, allow it on the endpoints it needs and block it elsewhere.

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving with Transfon Security

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving?

PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving is a bot in the web archivers category, operated by Pagefreezer. Pagefreezer Website Archiving is a compliance

Does PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving 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 PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving?

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

Should I block PagefreezerWebsiteArchiving?

Archivers save copies of pages to preserve the history of the web. Archived copies can be read outside your paywall or ads. Decide whether long term preservation matters more for your content.

Related bots

All web archivers · 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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