01 · Operator
Who operates OrangeBot
- Company
- Orange
02 · Behavior
What OrangeBot does
The Matomo bot database lists it as a search bot for lemoteur.orange.fr. That address now redirects to the Orange web portal. Its user agent gives a support email at orange.com.
03 · Impact
Why OrangeBot matters for your site
If you allow it
- Operated by a major telecom company
- May support Orange's search features
If you block it
- Orange's search site now redirects to its portal
- No published IP list for verification
04 · Allow
How to allow OrangeBot
robots.txt
User-agent: OrangeBot
Allow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "OrangeBot")
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: OrangeBot
Allow: /nginx
# nginx serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure no rule like this blocks it:
# if ($http_user_agent ~* "OrangeBot") { return 403; }Apache
# Apache serves every user agent by default.
# Make sure .htaccess has no rule like this:
# RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} OrangeBot [NC]
# RewriteRule .* - [F,L]05 · Block
How to block OrangeBot
Start with robots.txt. If OrangeBot keeps showing up in your logs, block it at your CDN or web server.
robots.txt
User-agent: OrangeBot
Disallow: /Cloudflare
# Security › WAF › Custom rules › Create rule
Expression: (http.user_agent contains "OrangeBot")
Action: BlockWordPress
# WordPress serves a virtual robots.txt. Edit it with your SEO plugin:
# Yoast: SEO › Tools › File editor · Rank Math: General Settings › Edit robots.txt
User-agent: OrangeBot
Disallow: /nginx
# In your server { } block:
if ($http_user_agent ~* "OrangeBot") {
return 403;
}Apache
# .htaccess
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_USER_AGENT} OrangeBot [NC]
RewriteRule .* - [F,L]
</IfModule>06 · User agents
User agents we see for OrangeBot
The user agent published by the operator:
Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; OrangeBot/2.0; support.orangebot@orange.com)07 · Verification
Is it really OrangeBot?
OrangeBot’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 OrangeBot
Who operates OrangeBot?
OrangeBot belongs to Orange, the French telecom operator. Its user agent lists support.orangebot@orange.com.
Is OrangeBot still active?
The search site it was linked to, lemoteur.orange.fr, now redirects to the Orange portal. Its current crawl purpose is not documented.
How do I block OrangeBot?
Add "User-agent: OrangeBot" with "Disallow: /" to robots.txt. Orange does not document whether the bot obeys it.
Last reviewed Oct 8, 2026