What is SparkShipping?

SparkShipping is a bot in the webhook senders category, operated by Spark Shipping.

Bot name
SparkShipping
Operator
Spark Shipping
Type
Bot
Respects robots.txt
Not confirmed
robots.txt user agent
SparkShipping
Signs requests (Web Bot Auth)
No

About SparkShipping

Spark Shipping is eCommerce automation software for retailers running WooCommerce

Webhook senders call your endpoints to deliver events from payment, messaging and SaaS platforms. Blocking them breaks integrations. Allow them on the webhook paths they need and nowhere else.

SparkShipping user agent

SparkShipping identifies itself with this user agent string:

  • SparkShipping

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 SparkShipping in robots.txt

We have not confirmed whether SparkShipping 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 SparkShipping from the whole site

User-agent: SparkShipping
Disallow: /

Block SparkShipping from some folders

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

Allow SparkShipping only on some folders

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

Allow SparkShipping and block other crawlers

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

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

Who should care about SparkShipping

Publishers

Allow SparkShipping 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

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

Transfon Security for advertisers

E-commerce

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

Transfon Security for e-commerce

SaaS and APIs

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

Transfon Security for SaaS and APIs

Block SparkShipping with Transfon Security

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

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

Frequently asked questions

What is SparkShipping?

SparkShipping is a bot in the webhook senders category, operated by Spark Shipping. Spark Shipping is eCommerce automation software for retailers running WooCommerce

Does SparkShipping respect robots.txt?

We have not confirmed whether SparkShipping 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 SparkShipping?

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

Is robots.txt enough to block SparkShipping?

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

Should I block SparkShipping?

Webhook senders call your endpoints to deliver events from payment, messaging and SaaS platforms. Blocking them breaks integrations. Allow them on the webhook paths they need and nowhere else.

Related bots

All webhook senders · 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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