Restrict Anonymous Access
Adds a shortcode to restrict content from anonymous users.
Consider an alternative
Restrict Anonymous Access shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 70+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 years ago, and scores 35/100 on our health check.
- Small user base (70+ active installs)
- Very few reviews so far
- No update in over a year
- Only tested up to WordPress 6.7 (latest is 7.1)
How does it stack up?
Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support
Daily downloads
Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.
Rankings
Where Restrict Anonymous Access stands todayWordPress.org search rankings
Live position in the plugin search, top 100| Keyword | Position |
|---|---|
| access-control | >100 |
| capabilities | >100 |
| restrict content | >100 |
| User Access | >100 |
Version adoption
Share of active sites per release.
Rating breakdown
★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 3 reviews
About Restrict Anonymous Access
From the official readme · v1.2.1Description
This plugin helps you to hide certain parts of your content like a paragraph or an image etc. to logged-out users or users of any other role with just a simple shortcode.
Customize the shortcode in order to display a special note to your users, apply custom CSS classes for your own design or hide the restricted parts completely.
Features:
- text within shortcode
[member][/member]is not visible to anonymous users - hide content based on user roles (subscriber, contributor, author, editor, admin)
- restricted text can be replaced with info text box
- info text can be customized
- comes with a handy TinyMCE button for quick access
Installation
- Upload the plugin files to the
/wp-content/plugins/restrict-anonymous-accessdirectory, or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly. - Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress.
- Use the shortcode
[member][/member]in any post, page or custom post type in order to hide content from anonymous users. Important: Please use “Classic” block element if you are using Gutenberg. - Optional parameters are
showinfo="0"to hide the info message,infotext="Your custom info for anons."andclass="my-custom-css-class"for adding CSS class to the info box. - Use parameter
role="[subscriber|contributor|author|editor|admin|your-custom-role]", e.g.role="editor"to hide content from users below editor capabilities.
Changelog
1.2.1
- Fixed vulnerability to Cross Site Scripting (XSS).
- Tested with WordPress 5.7.1.
1.2
- Added compatibility to custom user roles.
- Added HTML support for infotext parameter.
1.1
- Added optional user role based content restriction.
1.0.3
- Tested with WordPress 4.8.
- Fixed: Text output with paragraph tag (wpautop).
1.0.2
- Initial release for WordPress plugin directory.
Screenshots
For developers
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FAQ
Restrict Anonymous Access: quick answers
Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.
Live data from WordPress.org · checked Sep 27, 2026
Is Restrict Anonymous Access free?
Yes. Restrict Anonymous Access is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.
Is Restrict Anonymous Access safe to use in 2026?
Restrict Anonymous Access shows warning signs in 2026 — compare the alternatives below before installing. It runs on 70+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 2 years ago, and scores 35/100 on our health check.
How many websites use Restrict Anonymous Access?
Restrict Anonymous Access is active on 70+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 3,699 times since it launched in June 2017. It was downloaded 108 times in the last 30 days.
Does Restrict Anonymous Access work with WordPress 7.1?
Restrict Anonymous Access is officially tested up to WordPress 6.7.9, while the latest release is 7.1.2. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.
When was Restrict Anonymous Access last updated?
The latest version, 1.2.1, was released on January 21, 2025 (2 years ago).
Who makes Restrict Anonymous Access?
Restrict Anonymous Access is developed and maintained by Christian Leuenberg.
What are the best alternatives to Restrict Anonymous Access?
The most popular alternatives to Restrict Anonymous Access are PublishPress Capabilities:… (100K+ installs), Restrict User Access (10K+ installs) and PublishPress Permissions: A… (10K+ installs).
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