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Bulk up to 100 • Detect bot cloaking / UA-based blocks

User-Agent Checker

Paste URLs — we’ll fetch them using different User-Agent strings and compare status + final URLs. Great for detecting cloaking, bot blocks, and inconsistent redirects.

Paste up to 100 URLs/domains (one per line)
Mode:

Results

URL Comparison Time Issues
Run a check to see results here.
Big red flag: bots get a different final URL or a different status compared to a normal browser.

What to look for

Different user-agents should usually see the same final URL and similar status codes.

  • OK same final URL + status across UAs
  • Warning minor differences, extra hops, odd redirects
  • Error bot blocks (403/503), different destinations, timeouts
UA consistency check

User-Agent Checker: detect bot blocks and cloaking

This tool compares how a website responds to different User-Agent strings (browser vs bots). It helps you spot cloaking, WAF blocks, geo/UA targeting mistakes, and inconsistent redirect rules.

How it works

For each URL, we send requests with multiple User-Agents and follow redirects up to a limit. We record final status codes, final URLs, hop counts, timing, and a few useful headers. If bots land somewhere else — you’ll see it instantly.

Why it matters for SEO

Search engines crawl using bot user-agents. If your site blocks them (403/503) or redirects them differently, indexing and rankings can drop. Consistency is the goal: bots and real users should generally receive the same content and canonical destinations.

FAQ

Why would different user-agents get different results?

Many security layers evaluate the User-Agent header. WAFs, CDNs, and server rules sometimes redirect, block, or throttle bots. Crawlers may hit different redirect paths, get cached responses, or receive compressed headers. Comparing User-Agents reveals if your platform unintentionally treats search engines differently.

Can inconsistent results harm SEO?

Yes. Search engines expect user-agents to receive equivalent content and canonical destinations. If bots see 4xx/5xx errors, unsupported redirects, or alternate URLs, indexing may weaken and pages may drop out of search coverage reports. Persistent mismatches can be interpreted as cloaking or blocked crawling.

Does a different number of redirect hops matter?

It can. Extra hops for bots indicate UA-specific redirect logic, cached rules, or geo WAF decisions. Long redirect chains slow crawling, accumulate latency, and increase the likelihood of timeout/loop detection. Ideally, all UAs should follow the same destination path with minimal hops.

What counts as a major UA mismatch?

Major mismatches include status differences (2xx vs 4xx/5xx), different final URLs, loops, hop limit triggers, or fatal connection errors. These anomalies strongly suggest deliberate filtering, cloaking, or unstable routing.

Is comparing only status and redirects enough?

For detecting routing and crawling blockers — yes. Many cloaking patterns operate at redirect or header level, long before HTML content loads. This tool focuses on structural parity; full content comparison requires body fetching, which is intentionally excluded to keep checks lightweight and fast.

Why include a browser UA baseline?

A browser UA acts as the “real user” control case. Comparing bot UAs directly to each other can hide mismatches, while comparing them to a browser reveals whether bots are filtered, redirected to alternate content, or blocked entirely by server rules or CDNs.

Why do some URLs work for custom UA but not presets?

Many bot blocks target known crawler headers specifically, while unknown UAs pass through. This helps detect heuristic WAF rules or misconfigured filtering sets that unintentionally block legitimate crawlers.

Does this detect JavaScript-based cloaking?

No. The tool does not execute JavaScript. It tests server-side responses only. If cloaking happens client-side, results may appear normal until content rendering. Server-side cloaking, however, is accurately revealed through header, status, redirect, or timeout differences between User-Agents.