# Block bot web traffic

Source: https://amplitude.com/docs/data/block-bot-traffic

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On this page

- [How bot blocking works](#how-bot-blocking-works)
- [Create a block filter for bot web traffic](#create-a-block-filter-for-bot-web-traffic)
- [Related resources](#related-resources)

# Block bot web traffic

If you're tracking events on public, unauthenticated websites, your metrics may be affected by bot web traffic from crawlers, scrapers, and other similar tools. Amplitude Data allows you use a **block filter** to prevent that data from being ingested at all.

## How bot blocking works

Bot traffic is blocked based on User-Agent, as identified by the [IAB/ABC International Spiders and Bots List](https://www.iab.com/guidelines/iab-abc-international-spiders-bots-list/). This applies by default to data sent via the [legacy JavaScript SDK](https://github.com/amplitude/Amplitude-JavaScript) or the [TypeScript Browser SDK](https://github.com/amplitude/Amplitude-TypeScript/tree/main/packages/analytics-browser) (version 1.10.0 and later). You can also provide the `user_agent` field directly on events sent via the HTTP API or Batch API. Be careful when doing this, as the value **must represent a valid browser** or the event will be dropped.

Any **data filtered out by a block filter cannot be recovered** because it is never ingested in the first place.

## Create a block filter for bot web traffic

To create a block filter for bot web traffic, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you’re on `main`, as filters are not accessible from any other branch.

2. In the left-hand sidebar, click *Filters*, then select the *Block Filters* tab.

3. Click *+ Create Block Filter* to open the Filter Configuration fly-out panel.

4. Select *Bot Traffic* from the *Block* drop-down.

5. When you're ready, click *Block Data* to initiate the block filter.

## Related resources

- [Block and filter internal users](/docs/data/troubleshooting/instrumentation-issues#block-and-filter-internal-users): Learn how to exclude internal user data from your metrics.
- [Winsorization in Experiment](/docs/feature-experiment/advanced-techniques/winsorization-in-experiment): Find and resolve outliers that may skew your experiment results.

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