Authenticator
This plugin allows you to make your WordPress site accessible to logged in users only.
Use with caution
Authenticator works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 1K+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 8 months ago, and scores 54/100 on our health check.
- Momentum — downloads up 20% vs the previous 30 days
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & supportDaily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Authenticator stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| access | >100 |
| accessible | #52 |
| authentification | #2 |
| login | >100 |
| members | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 8 reviews
About Authenticator
From the official readme · v1.3.1Description
This plugin allows you to make your WordPress site accessible to logged in users only. In other words, to view your site they have to create or have an account on your site and be logged in. No configuration necessary, simply activating – that’s all.
Crafted by Inpsyde
The team at Inpsyde is engineering the web and WordPress since 2006.
Donation?
You want to donate – we prefer a positive review, not more.
Bugs, technical hints or contribute
Please give me feedback, contribute and file technical bugs on GitHub Repo.
License
Good news, this plugin is free for everyone! Since it’s released under the GPL, you can use it free of charge on your personal or commercial blog. But if you enjoy this plugin, you can thank me and leave a small donation for the time I’ve spent writing and supporting this plugin. And I really don’t want to know how many hours of my life this plugin has already eaten 😉
Translations
The plugin comes with various translations, please refer to the WordPress Codex for more information about activating the translation. If you want to help to translate the plugin to your language, please have a look at the translation possibility in this page here.
Donation?
You want to donate – we prefer a positive review, not more.
Installation
Requirements
- WordPress version 1.5 and later.
- PHP 5.6 or later.
- Single or Multisite installation.
On PHP-CGI setups:
– mod_setenvif or mod_rewrite (if you want to user HTTP authentication for feeds).
Installation
- Unzip the downloaded package.
- Upload folder include the file to the
/wp-content/plugins/directory. - Activate the plugin through the
Pluginsmenu in WordPress.
or use the installer via the back end of WordPress.
On PHP-CGI setups
If you want to use HTTP authentication for feeds (available since 1.1.0 as an optional feature) you have to update your .htaccess file. If mod_setenvif is available, add the following line to your .htaccess:
SetEnvIfNoCase ^Authorization$ "(.+)" HTTP_AUTHORIZATION=$1
Otherwise you need mod_rewrite to be enabled. In this case you have to add the following line to your .htaccess:
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
In a typical WordPress .htaccess it all looks like:
<IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
</IfModule>
On a multisite installation:
# BEGIN WordPress
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
# uploaded files
RewriteRule ^files/(.+) wp-includes/ms-files.php?file=$1 [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -f [OR]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} -d
RewriteRule ^ - [L]
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteRule . index.php [L]
# END WordPress
Settings
You can change the settings of Authenticator in Settings → Reading. The settings refer to the behavior of your blog’s feeds. They can be protected by HTTP authentication (not all feed readers support this) or by an authentication token which is added to your feed URL as a parameter. The third option is to keep everything in place. So feed URLs will be redirected to the login page if the user is not logged in (send no auth-cookie).
If you using token authentication, you can show the token to the blog users on their profile settings page by setting this option.
HTTP Auth
Users can gain access to the feed with their username and password.
Token Auth
The plugin will generate a token automatically when choosing this option. Copy this token and share it with the people who should have access to your feed. If your token is ef05aa961a0c10dce006284213727730 the feed URLs look like so:
# Main feed
https://example.com/feed/?ef05aa961a0c10dce006284213727730
# Main comment feed
https://example.com/comments/feed/?ef05aa961a0c10dce006284213727730
# Without permalinks
https://example.com/?feed=rss2&ef05aa961a0c10dce006284213727730
API
Filters
-
authenticator_get_optionsgives you access to the current authentication token:<?php
$authenticator_options = apply_filters( ‘authenticator_get_options’, array() ); -
authenticator_bypassgives you the possibility to completely bypass the authentication. No authentication will be required then.<?php
add_filter( ‘authenticator_bypass’, ‘__return_true’ ); -
authenticator_bypass_feed_authgives you the possibility to open the feeds for everyone. No authentication will be required then.<?php
add_filter( ‘authenticator_bypass_feed_auth’, ‘__return_true’ ); -
authenticator_exclude_pagenowsPass an array of$GLOBALS[ 'pagenow' ]values to it, to exclude several WordPress pages from redirecting to the login page. -
authenticator_exclude_ajax_actionsAJAX-Actions (independend of_nopriv) which should not be authenticated (remain open for everyone) -
authenticator_exclude_postsList of post-titles which should remain public, like the follow example source to public the ‘Contact’-page.<?php add_action( 'plugins_loaded', function() { add_filter( 'authenticator_exclude_posts', function( $titles ) { $titles[] = 'Contact'; // here goes the post-title of the post/page you want to exclude return $titles; } ); } );
Changelog
1.3.1 (2022-11-22)
- Security Fix: Generate valid nonce only for privileged user to prevent privilege elevation.
1.3.0 (2017-11-30)
- Fixed a topic on login of users if you exclude posts from the Authenticator.
- Add new filter hook to bypass the plugin
authenticator_bypass, see the readme. - Should now be ready for translations from the WordPress translation service.
1.2.3 (08/10/2017)
- Fixed loop about settings that create a fatal error.
- Added authentication also for REST API; probs steffenster.
1.2.2 (08/10/2017)
- Update readme to solve support questions, it works also under newer WP versions, tested up 4.9-alpha.
1.2.1 (08/31/2014)
- Add guard for the constant
XMLRPC_REQUEST. - Fix for XML-RPC bug #17.
- Enhance the readme to exclude posts/pages #18.
1.2.0 (06/26/2014)
- Fix the PHP notice #15.
- Fix #14.
- Add a removal of backlink in login footer #8.
- Filter for Ajax actions #12.
- Redefine
$reauthfor redirect #11. - Apply API Hook for exclude several URLs from redirect #10.
- Add settings for XML-RPC #9.
- Add Composer support.
- Update readme to see all information on wordpress.org repo.
For developers
Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.
Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.
Best Authenticator alternatives
All access plugins →FAQ
Authenticator: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 26, 2026
Is Authenticator free?
Yes. Authenticator is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Authenticator safe to use in 2026?
Authenticator works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 1K+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 8 months ago, and scores 54/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Authenticator?
Authenticator is active on 1K+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 100,019 times since it launched in August 2008. It was downloaded 547 times in the last 30 days.
Does Authenticator work with WordPress 7.1?
Authenticator is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
What PHP version does Authenticator need?
Authenticator requires PHP 5.6 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.
When was Authenticator last updated?
The latest version, 1.3.1, was released on January 21, 2026 (8 months ago).
Who makes Authenticator?
Authenticator is developed and maintained by Syde GmbH (formerly Inpsyde).
What are the best alternatives to Authenticator?
The most popular alternatives to Authenticator are Loginizer (1M+ installs), User Role Editor (700K+ installs) and Members (300K+ installs).
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