01 · Operator
Who operates PiplBot
02 · Behavior
What PiplBot does
It collects documents from the web to build a searchable index for Pipl's people search. Pipl says it also targets the deep web by querying searchable databases. This sets it apart from link-following search crawlers.
03 · Impact
Why PiplBot matters for your site
If you allow it
- Respects robots.txt exclusions
- Low impact on most small sites
If you block it
- No search traffic benefit for most sites
- Pages may feed a people search index
04 · Allow
How to allow PiplBot
robots.txt
User-agent: PiplBot
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "PiplBot")
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: PiplBot
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "PiplBot") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PiplBot [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block PiplBot
PiplBot follows robots.txt, so one rule is enough. Use a server or CDN rule only to stop spoofed copies.
robots.txt
User-agent: PiplBot
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "PiplBot")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: PiplBot
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "PiplBot") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} PiplBot [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for PiplBot
The user agent published by the operator:
Mozilla/5.0+(compatible;+PiplBot;+http://www.pipl.com/bot/)07 · Verification
Is it really PiplBot?
PiplBot’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 PiplBot
What is PiplBot?
PiplBot is Pipl's crawler. It indexes web documents for Pipl's people search service.
Does PiplBot respect robots.txt?
Yes. Pipl states that PiplBot honors robots.txt exclusion rules.
How do I block PiplBot?
Add "User-agent: PiplBot" followed by "Disallow: /" to your robots.txt file.
Last reviewed Oct 8, 2026