01 · Operator
Who operates ia_archiver
- Company
- Alexa Internet (Amazon)
- Type
- SEO tool crawler
02 · Behavior
What ia_archiver does
The crawler fetched pages for Alexa's web data and site rankings. Alexa's crawled pages also formed the basis of the Internet Archive's early collection. The Alexa service no longer exists.
03 · Impact
Why ia_archiver matters for your site
If you allow it
- Historic crawler with no current service behind it
- Blocking is rarely needed for real traffic
If you block it
- Alexa Internet shut down in 2022
- Current requests with this name may be impersonation
04 · Allow
How to allow ia_archiver
robots.txt
User-agent: ia_archiver
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "ia_archiver")
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: ia_archiver
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "ia_archiver") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ia_archiver [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block ia_archiver
Start with robots.txt. If ia_archiver keeps showing up in your logs, block it at your CDN or web server.
robots.txt
User-agent: ia_archiver
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "ia_archiver")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: ia_archiver
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "ia_archiver") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} ia_archiver [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for ia_archiver
The user agent published by the operator:
ia_archiver (+http://www.alexa.com/site/help/webmasters; crawler@alexa.com)07 · Verification
Is it really ia_archiver?
ia_archiver’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 ia_archiver
Is ia_archiver still active?
No official service uses it anymore. Amazon discontinued Alexa Internet on May 1, 2022.
Is ia_archiver the Internet Archive's crawler?
No. It belonged to Alexa Internet, although Alexa's crawl data formed the basis of the Internet Archive.
Should I block ia_archiver?
Yes, blocking is safe. The Alexa service that used it no longer exists.
Last reviewed Oct 8, 2026