01 · Operator
Who operates bidswitchbot
- Company
- BidSwitch (IPONWEB)
- Type
- Other bot
- Official docs
- bidswitch.com
02 · Behavior
What bidswitchbot does
BidSwitch connects buyers and sellers in real-time ad bidding. Its bot fetches publisher pages in that context. The exact files or data it collects are not documented. It sends a short user agent without a contact URL.
03 · Impact
Why bidswitchbot matters for your site
If you allow it
- May support programmatic ad demand for your inventory
- Low request volume reported
If you block it
- No documentation of what it collects
- No benefit if you do not sell ads programmatically
- Cannot be verified by IP or DNS
04 · Allow
How to allow bidswitchbot
robots.txt
User-agent: bidswitchbot
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "bidswitchbot")
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: bidswitchbot
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "bidswitchbot") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} bidswitchbot [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block bidswitchbot
Start with robots.txt. If bidswitchbot keeps showing up in your logs, block it at your CDN or web server.
robots.txt
User-agent: bidswitchbot
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "bidswitchbot")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: bidswitchbot
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "bidswitchbot") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} bidswitchbot [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for bidswitchbot
The user agent published by the operator:
bidswitchbot/1.007 · Verification
Is it really bidswitchbot?
bidswitchbot’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 bidswitchbot
What is bidswitchbot?
It is an advertising crawler linked to BidSwitch, a real-time bidding platform. Its exact purpose is not publicly documented.
Should I block bidswitchbot?
If your site does not run programmatic ads, blocking it has no downside. Publishers that sell ads may want to keep it.
How do I block bidswitchbot?
Add 'User-agent: bidswitchbot' and 'Disallow: /' to robots.txt. Its compliance is not documented.
Last reviewed Oct 7, 2026