Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam

Jetpack Anti-spam, powered by Akismet, automatically filters spam comments and contact form submissions on your site. Using Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam requires a Jetpack Security, Jetpack Complete, or Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam plan, or a legacy plan that includes anti-spam.

Getting Started with Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam

Once you’ve purchased your Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam plan and connected your site to Jetpack, your site should be all set to start blocking comment and contact form spam. You can confirm that Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam is active on your site by going to Jetpack → Dashboard in WP Admin and scrolling to the Security section of the page.

There will be a section titled Anti-spam. In that section, you should see a message that lets you know that Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam is monitoring comments on your site. From here, you can also click Moderate comments to go to Comments in WP Admin.

If you don’t see the message about Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam monitoring comments, you’ll see a notice asking you to Upgrade or Activate Akismet. If you haven’t purchased a Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam plan, Upgrade will take you through the process of purchasing the plan.

Clicking Activate Akismet will take you to a page where you’ll see your API key, and various configuration settings.

Configuring Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam

By navigating to Jetpack → Anti-spam in WP Admin, you can configure a number of different settings.

• API Key: This API key should be pre-filled when you purchase your Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam plan.
• Comments: Checking this box will allow the number of approved comments to appear next to each comment author when viewing Comments in WP Admin.
• Strictness: This setting allows you to decide how you want to manage your spam. You can allow Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam to automatically discard spam or put in the spam folder for you to review.
• Privacy: This setting allows you to display a privacy notice under your comment forms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam work with form submissions?

If you use Jetpack’s contact form (either the Form block, or the classic editor version), then all of your contact form submissions are automatically checked for spam by Akismet. You can also manually mark comments as spam/not spam via the Feedback section of WP Admin.

For more information on using Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam with other form plugins, please see this support article from Akismet about how to use Akismet with your contact forms.

How do I confirm if Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam is working?

Please see this support article from Akismet about how to confirm Akismet is working.

How does Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam block spam submissions on comments and forms?

Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam is powered by Akismet, which uses state of the art algorithms and methods to block spam submissions. To date, Akismet has blocked more than 500 billion pieces of spam, averaging about 7.5 million per hour.

Do I need to use a captcha with Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam?

No. With Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam enabled, spam submissions are filtered automatically, which makes it easier for legitimate visitors on your site to engage with your comments section or to submit a form.

Do I need to manually review comments and form submissions when using Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam?

No. Anything that Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam thinks is spam is automatically moved to your site’s spam section. On the off chance that some spam does get through, you can mark it as spam which will make Anti-spam recognize submissions like that as spam in the future.

How many API calls do I get per month with Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam?

Anti-spam comes with 10k API calls per month, which should be more than enough for a small business. If you need more API calls, you can upgrade to one of Akismet’s higher tier plans.

Does Jetpack Akismet Anti-spam report the amount of blocked spam?

Yes. On the Jetpack Dashboard (WP Admin > Jetpack > Dashboard) there is a stats card that shows the number of spam comments and submissions blocked on your site from Anti-spam.