# Enabling and disabling pingbacks and trackbacks in WordPress

> Turn WordPress pingbacks and trackbacks on or off for your whole site or for individual posts to cut down on spam.

Source: https://helpcenter.ruachost.com/wordpress/guides/enabling-and-disabling-pingbacks-and-trackbacks-in-wordpress/

**Pingbacks** and **trackbacks** are link notifications that let you know when other sites link to your content. While they can facilitate communication between blogs, they are often abused by spammers inserting unwanted links. On **ruachost.com**, you can easily enable or disable these features in WordPress.

## What Are Pingbacks and Trackbacks?

- **Pingbacks** → Automatic notifications when another WordPress site links to your post.
- **Trackbacks** → Manual notifications sent when someone links to your content from a non‑WordPress site.
- Both appear in the **comments section** of your posts.
- ⚠️ They can be exploited by bots to add spam links, so many site owners disable them.

## Steps to Enable or Disable Pingbacks and Trackbacks

1. **Log in to WordPress** as the administrator.
2. In the left‑hand dashboard menu, click **Settings → Discussion**.
3. In the **Default article settings** section:

   - To **enable** pingbacks and trackbacks → Check the box **Allow link notifications from other blogs (pingbacks and trackbacks)**.
   - To **disable** pingbacks and trackbacks → Clear the checkbox.
4. Click **Save Changes**.

> **Note:**
- Even if enabled, you can disable pingbacks/trackbacks on individual posts by editing the post and unchecking the option in the **Discussion** settings.
- Disabling them is recommended unless you specifically want to use them for collaboration.
- This setting does not affect regular comments, only link notifications.