01 · Operator
Who operates YoudaoBot
- Company
- NetEase Youdao
02 · Behavior
What YoudaoBot does
YoudaoBot fetched pages for Youdao's search services. Today Youdao focuses on dictionary, translation and learning products. The spider help page linked in its user agent now returns a 404 error.
03 · Impact
Why YoudaoBot matters for your site
If you allow it
- Operator is clearly identified
- Low impact if it crawls rarely
If you block it
- Youdao no longer promotes a web search product
- Documentation is offline
04 · Allow
How to allow YoudaoBot
robots.txt
User-agent: YoudaoBot
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "YoudaoBot")
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: YoudaoBot
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "YoudaoBot") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} YoudaoBot [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block YoudaoBot
Start with robots.txt. If YoudaoBot keeps showing up in your logs, block it at your CDN or web server.
robots.txt
User-agent: YoudaoBot
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "YoudaoBot")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: YoudaoBot
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "YoudaoBot") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} YoudaoBot [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for YoudaoBot
The user agent published by the operator:
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; YoudaoBot/1.0; http://www.youdao.com/help/webmaster/spider/; )07 · Verification
Is it really YoudaoBot?
YoudaoBot’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 YoudaoBot
Who operates YoudaoBot?
YoudaoBot belongs to Youdao, a company of the NetEase group in China.
Is YoudaoBot still active?
It may still appear in logs. Youdao's spider help page is offline, and the company now focuses on learning and translation products.
How do I block YoudaoBot?
Add "User-agent: YoudaoBot" followed by "Disallow: /" to your robots.txt, or block the user agent on your server.
Last reviewed Oct 8, 2026