Bot intelligence record

Google Feed Fetcher

Usually allow

Use the google.com/feedfetcher identifier to separate Google feed fetching or subscription-style retrieval from normal visitor requests in server logs.

Feed Feed Fetch Verified Bot Confidence: Medium Verified: Yes robots.txt: No
Operator
Google
Family
Google
Type
Feed
Source type
Verified Directory
Last checked
2026-05-20

User-Agent Pattern

Google
google.com/feedfetcher
Verification note

User-agent strings are identification signals, not proof of identity. Confirm important allow, block, or rate-limit decisions with logs, DNS or IP evidence, request behavior, or operator documentation when available.

Robots.txt Snippet

Click snippet to copy 
User-agent: google.com/feedfetcher Disallow: /

Click the snippet to copy it, or highlight the text manually.

Handling Guidance

Depends

This bot is usually safe to allow when the request source is verified and the traffic matches your site policy.

Feed fetching, subscription updates, podcast retrieval, or content syndication checks.

Record Details

Structured data
Operator
Google
Family
Google
Type
Feed
Purpose
Feed Fetch
Identity type
Verified Bot
Confidence
Medium
Last verified
2026-04-30
Last checked
2026-05-20
Source type
Verified Directory
Verification
Validate the identifying user-agent or signature against the operator documentation before creating hard allow rules.
Spoofing risk
User-agent strings can be spoofed. For allow-listing or low-friction rules, pair the published identifier with operator documentation or cryptographic verification when available.

Notes

Google Feed Fetcher is listed in the Botcrawl directory as a feed retrieval bot from Google. The primary identifier for log review is google.com/feedfetcher.

Identification

  • User-agent pattern: google.com/feedfetcher
  • Family: Google
  • Type: Feed
  • Kind: Fetcher

Common use

Feed fetching, subscription updates, podcast retrieval, or content syndication checks.

Verification and handling

Confirm the user-agent against server logs and use published operator documentation, IP ranges, reverse DNS, or other trust signals when available.

Directory guidance marks the risk level as Safe and the blocking decision as Depends. Do not rely on the user-agent string alone because user-agent strings can be copied or spoofed.

Robots.txt handling: No.

Evidence and Source

  • Validate the identifying user-agent or signature against the operator documentation before creating hard allow rules.
  • Match `google.com/feedfetcher` as a case-insensitive substring in HTTP user-agent logs. Use bot_http_agent for full user-agent examples when the client sends a longer browser-like string. Do not treat a user-agent match alone as proof of identity for allow-listing.
  • Feed fetching, subscription updates, podcast retrieval, or content syndication checks.
  • User-agent strings can be spoofed. For allow-listing or low-friction rules, pair the published identifier with operator documentation or cryptographic verification when available.

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/1061943?hl=en

Same family: Google

ProjectShield-UrlCheck Safe

ProjectShield Url Check

ProjectShield Url Check is a security scanner from Google used for security checks, malware review, or abuse prevention.

Operator and family: Google Type: Security
Verified robots.txt: No Block: No Verified Bot
GoogleOther-Image Neutral

GoogleOther-Image

GoogleOther-Image is an AI crawler from Google used for AI-related crawling, retrieval, search, or assistant activity.

Operator and family: Google Type: Ai Purpose: Ai Training
Verified robots.txt: Yes Block: Depends Official Documented
GoogleOther-Video Neutral

GoogleOther-Video

GoogleOther-Video is an AI crawler from Google used for AI-related crawling, retrieval, search, or assistant activity.

Operator and family: Google Type: Ai Purpose: Ai Training
Verified robots.txt: Yes Block: Depends Official Documented
Google-Display-Ads-Bot Neutral

Google-Display-Ads-Bot

Google AdSense uses a crawler called Google-Display-Ads-Bot to verify your site when you add a site to AdSense.

Operator and family: Google Type: Search Purpose: Indexing
Verified robots.txt: Yes Block: Depends Verified Bot

Same operator: Google

GoogleAgent-Mariner Neutral

GoogleAgent-Mariner

Claimed Google Project Mariner user-agent token for agentic browser activity.

Operator: Google Family: Google Mariner Type: Ai Purpose: Agentic Browsing
Not verified robots.txt: Unknown Block: Depends Observed
Google-Extended Safe

Google-Extended

Google-Extended is an AI control token from Google used for AI-related crawling, retrieval, search, or assistant activity.

Operator and family: Google Type: Ai Purpose: Ai Assistant
Verified robots.txt: Yes Block: Depends Official Documented
Google-NotebookLM Neutral

Google-NotebookLM

Google-NotebookLM is an AI fetcher from Google used for AI-related crawling, retrieval, search, or assistant activity.

Operator and family: Google Type: Ai Purpose: Ai Assistant
Verified robots.txt: No Block: Depends Official Documented
Google-Pinpoint Safe

Google-Pinpoint

Google-Pinpoint is a search crawler from Google used for search indexing, page discovery, or content rendering.

Operator and family: Google Type: Search
Verified robots.txt: No Block: Depends Official Documented

Similar purpose: Feed Fetch

ZoteroTranslationServer/WMF Neutral

WMF Zotero Translation Server

WMF Zotero Translation Server is a feed retrieval bot from Wikimedia Foundation used to retrieve feeds, subscriptions, podcasts, or syndicated content.

Operator and family: Wikimedia Foundation Type: Feed Purpose: Feed Fetch
Verified robots.txt: No Block: Depends Verified Bot
Citoid/WMF Neutral

WMF Citoid

WMF Citoid is a feed retrieval bot from Wikimedia Foundation used to retrieve feeds, subscriptions, podcasts, or syndicated content.

Operator and family: Wikimedia Foundation Type: Feed Purpose: Feed Fetch
Verified robots.txt: No Block: Depends Verified Bot
videootvBot Neutral

videootv Bot

Crawler to extract the newest articles in the publisher's website (via feed or parsing html) to make a carrousel with images, links and text for our native ads module in order to improve.

Operator and family: Digital Green Type: Feed Purpose: Feed Fetch
Verified robots.txt: Yes Block: Depends Verified Bot
SkroutzBot Safe

SkroutzBot

Skroutz uses SkroutzBot web crawler to download XML feeds.

Operator and family: Skroutz S.A. Type: Feed Purpose: Feed Fetch
Verified robots.txt: No Block: Depends Verified Bot

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