Does WP auto log visitor IPs

  • MichaelGli

    (@michaelgli)


    6 years ago

    Many standard privacy statements include eg “When you visit this web site, our web server makes a record of your visit and logs the following information for statistical purposes: Your server address…”
    Does WP do this by default? I don’t use such information so I would like to delete this clause from my privacy statement.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Joy

    (@joyously)

    WordPress does not log any data, but most web server software does, and that is what your quoted text says.
    WordPress will save some data when visitors submit comments, though.
    Some plugins save other data. You have to determine it all individually.

    MarkRH

    (@markrh)

    Pretty much every single access to your site is saved in Apache access logs by default and sometimes automatically incorporated into packages such as Webalizer and AWSTATS depending on the webhost, whether you do anything with it or not. This is all outside of WordPress control. 

    46.229.168.129 - - [22/Feb/2019:22:35:03 -0500] "GET /2018/01/01/happy-new-year-2018/ HTTP/1.1" 200 11446 "-" "Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; SemrushBot/3~bl; +https://www.semrush.com/bot.html)"

    The above is part of the raw Apache access log… shows SemrushBot looking at one of my posts.

    • This reply was modified 6 years ago by MarkRH.
    Thread Starter MichaelGli

    (@michaelgli)

    Thank you for a very precise answer.

    I suppose website owners have automatic right of access to those logs for their site?
    So although I want to say we don’t access them, we could – and the client wouldn’t know.
    I suppose too when governments want to force isps to assist in investigations part of their legislation will be to compel isps to store this data.
    Such is the age we live in.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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