01 · Operator
Who operates GarlikCrawler
- Company
- Garlik (Experian)
- Type
- Monitoring bot
- Official docs
- experianplc.com
02 · Behavior
What GarlikCrawler does
Garlik used its own web-crawler technology to monitor the web and social networks for exposed personal data. Its DataPatrol product alerted consumers when their data appeared online. The crawler's current activity is unclear.
03 · Impact
Why GarlikCrawler matters for your site
If you allow it
- Supports identity-theft monitoring
If you block it
- No search or referral benefit
- Purpose is unrelated to your site's visibility
04 · Allow
How to allow GarlikCrawler
robots.txt
User-agent: GarlikCrawler
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "GarlikCrawler")
Action: Skip › All Super Bot Fight Mode rules
# Also check Security › Bots: "Block AI bots" can block it regardless of robots.txt.WordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: GarlikCrawler
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "GarlikCrawler") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} GarlikCrawler [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block GarlikCrawler
Start with robots.txt. If GarlikCrawler keeps showing up in your logs, block it at your CDN or web server.
robots.txt
User-agent: GarlikCrawler
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "GarlikCrawler")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: GarlikCrawler
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "GarlikCrawler") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} GarlikCrawler [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for GarlikCrawler
The user agent published by the operator:
GarlikCrawler/1.2 (http://garlik.com/, crawler@garlik.com)07 · Verification
Is it really GarlikCrawler?
GarlikCrawler’s operator publishes no IP ranges or hostnames, so requests cannot be verified. Treat the user agent as a claim, and watch your logs for unusual request rates.
FAQ
Questions about GarlikCrawler
Who operates GarlikCrawler?
It belongs to Garlik, an identity-protection company founded in 2005 and later acquired by Experian.
Why would GarlikCrawler visit my site?
Garlik crawled the web to detect leaked or exposed consumer data for its monitoring service.
How do I block GarlikCrawler?
Add 'User-agent: GarlikCrawler' and 'Disallow: /' to robots.txt.
Last reviewed Oct 7, 2026