Sign in Get Started

Jetpack Comments

Last updated:

Jetpack Comments replaces your theme’s comment form with one where readers can log in with WordPress.com or comment as a guest.

When someone reads a post on your site and wants to comment, Jetpack Comments lets them log in with their WordPress.com account or comment as a guest with their name and email address.

Since it replaces the default WordPress comment form, Jetpack Comments is deactivated by default. To activate it, go to Jetpack → Settings → Discussion in WP Admin and turn on the “Replace the default comment form with a modern, feature‑rich alternative.” toggle in the Comments section.

Please read this article to learn how to turn off WordPress comments altogether.

When activated, Jetpack Comments takes the place of your theme’s comment form.

Third-party cookies must be enabled for WordPress.com login

The Log in with WordPress.com option for Jetpack Comments requires third-party cookies to work properly. If the option is not available when you enable Jetpack Comments, you can take the following steps to troubleshoot:

  1. Enable third-party cookies in your browser. If you need guidance on how to do this for your preferred browser, please consult their documentation.
  2. Check your browser’s privacy settings:
    • Temporarily disable privacy or ad-blocking extensions temporarily.
    • Ensure you’re not in private/incognito browsing mode.
  3. Clear browser cache and cookies, then restart your browser. If you need guidance on how to do this for your preferred browser, please consult their documentation.

Comment form settings

Update your comment form settings:

  1. Go to Jetpack → Settings → Discussion in WP Admin and find the Comments section.
  2. Change the Comment form introduction: the message that appears above your comment form from the default “Leave a Reply” to anything.
  3. Turn “Enable blocks in comments.” on or off. With blocks on, commenters can format their comments with lists, quotes, and code, and add images and embedded content from a link. This option appears on sites that use the block editor.

Other Settings

  • Enable pop-up business cards over commenters’ Gravatars: Enable Jetpack’s Gravatar Hovercards feature.
  • Enable Markdown use for comments: Users can write their comments in Markdown.
  • Enable comment likes: Users can like other users’ comments with Jetpack’s Comment Likes feature

Pingbacks and trackbacks

Pingbacks are very similar to trackbacks. Think of pingbacks as a form of remote comment. When you publish a post that contains a link to a post on another person’s pingback-enabled blog, the author of the other post receives a notification that you’ve linked to their post on their blog. The pingback is then displayed on the other post as a link to your post. 

Pingbacks can be used as a means to place spam comments on your site. You can follow these steps to completely disable pingbacks on your site:

  1. Select Settings → Discussion in your site’s WP Admin
  2. Disable Allow link notifications from other blogs (pingbacks and trackbacks) on new posts
  3. Select Save Changes to disable pingbacks and trackbacks on new posts

You can also enable or disable Pingbacks for individual posts via the “Discussion” settings available in the sidebar when creating or editing a post.

Leave a comment

To leave a comment, click in the box and start typing, then click Comment. If the site doesn’t know who you are yet, a window opens and asks for your details. You can also click Add your name below the box to open it first. The window gives you two options:

  • Log in with WordPress.com: Comment with your WordPress.com account.
  • Continue as a guest: Enter your name and email address in the Name and Email fields. You can also add your website in the Website (optional) field.

Your email address will never be publicly displayed; only the blog owners and admins will see it.

Once you have commented, a Change link (for guests) or a Log out link (when you are logged in) appears next to your name under the comment box.

Comment Options

In the same window, you can also use these options:

  • Checking Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. will store your information for the next time you participate in a discussion on this site.
  • Turning on Notify me of new comments by email. will email you to confirm that you want to subscribe to comments. Once confirmed, you’ll get notifications via email each time a new comment is posted.
  • Turning on Subscribe to keep up with [site name]. will email you to confirm that you would like to subscribe to the site’s blog posts. Once confirmed, you’ll get notifications via email each time a new blog post is posted.

The two subscription toggles appear only when the site offers them.

Once you’ve chosen your options, click Comment and your comment will either be posted automatically or held for moderation. This is based on the site owners’ settings found under Settings → Discussion → Before a comment appears.

Still need help?

Please contact support. We’re happy to advise.

Privacy Information

Jetpack Comments are deactivated by default. You can activate them at any moment from your WP Admin. To do so:

  1. Go to Jetpack → Settings.
  2. Click the Discussion tab.
  3. Toggle the Let visitors use a WordPress.com or Facebook account to comment setting in the Comments section.
Data Used
Site Owners / Users

 

This features the same data as the core WordPress commenting system: commenter’s name, email address, and site URL (if provided to the comment form), submission date/time, and IP address.

Additionally, a jetpack.wordpress.com IFrame receives the following data: WordPress.com blog ID attached to the site, ID of the post on which the comment is being submitted, commenter’s local user ID (if available), commenter’s local username (if available), commenter’s site URL (if available), MD5 hash of the commenter’s email address (if available), and the comment content.

If Akismet (also owned by Automattic) is enabled on the site, the following information is sent to the service for the sole purpose of spam checking: commenter’s name, email address, site URL, IP address, and user agent.

For toggle activity tracking (detailed below): IP address, WordPress.com user ID, WordPress.com username, WordPress.com-connected site ID and URL, Jetpack version, user agent, visiting URL, referring URL, timestamp of event, browser language, country code.

 Site Visitors

 

This features the same data as the core WordPress commenting system: commenter’s name, email address, and site URL (if provided to the comment form), submission date/time, and IP address.

Additionally, a jetpack.wordpress.com IFrame receives the following data: WordPress.com blog ID attached to the site, ID of the post on which the comment is being submitted, commenter’s local user ID (if available), commenter’s local username (if available), commenter’s site URL (if available), MD5 hash of the commenter’s email address (if available), and the comment content.

If Akismet (also owned by Automattic) is enabled on the site, the following information is sent to the service for the sole purpose of spam checking: commenter’s name, email address, site URL, IP address, and user agent.
Activity Tracked
Site Owners / Users

 

The comment author’s name, email address, and site URL (if provided during the comment submission) are stored in cookies. Learn more about these cookies.

We also track when, and by which user, the feature is activated and deactivated. We also track when, and which, configuration settings are modified.

 Site Visitors

 

The comment author’s name, email address, and site URL (if provided during the comment submission) are stored in cookies. Learn more about these cookies.
Data Synced (Read More)
Site Owners / Users

 

We sync all data and metadata associated with a user’s comment. We also sync options that identify whether or not the feature is activated and how its available settings are configured.

 Site Visitors

 

We sync all data and metadata associated with a user’s comment.

In this section