01 · Operator
Who operates DowntimeDetector
- Type
- Monitoring bot
02 · Behavior
What DowntimeDetector does
Down for Everyone or Just Me lets users check if a website is down for everyone. DowntimeDetector requests usually follow such a check. The site does not document the bot itself.
03 · Impact
Why DowntimeDetector matters for your site
If you allow it
- Lets users confirm your site is up
- Very low request volume
If you block it
- No published verification method
04 · Allow
How to allow DowntimeDetector
robots.txt
User-agent: DowntimeDetector
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "DowntimeDetector")
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: DowntimeDetector
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "DowntimeDetector") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} DowntimeDetector [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block DowntimeDetector
Start with robots.txt. If DowntimeDetector keeps showing up in your logs, block it at your CDN or web server.
robots.txt
User-agent: DowntimeDetector
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "DowntimeDetector")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: DowntimeDetector
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "DowntimeDetector") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} DowntimeDetector [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for DowntimeDetector
The user agent published by the operator:
DowntimeDetector/4.0 (+https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com)07 · Verification
Is it really DowntimeDetector?
DowntimeDetector’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 DowntimeDetector
What is DowntimeDetector?
It is a user agent that links to downforeveryoneorjustme.com, a service that checks whether websites are down.
Should I block DowntimeDetector?
Usually not. Blocking it can make the service wrongly report your site as down.
Last reviewed Oct 7, 2026