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Bot IP: 173.252.79.6

facebookexternalhit is the user agent for Facebook's web crawler, used to fetch and preview content when links are shared on Facebook platforms.
Likely legitimate
Track-A-Bot Trust Score: 71/100
0255075100
Why Track-A-Bot rated this IP (tap to expand)

Identity

  • ✅ Marked as bot traffic
  • ✅ Bot name present
  • ✅ User-agent matches bot name
  • ✅ User-agent includes identity link/email

Hostname

  • ✅ Hostname observed
  • ℹ️ Hostname does not resemble bot name
  • ℹ️ Hostname status not verified
  • ✅ No hostname mismatch flags

Behavior

  • ℹ️ No /robots.txt request observed
  • ✅ No referrer (typical crawler behavior)
  • ⚠️ Many non-200/304 responses
  • 📌 Visits: 2
  • ⏱️ Age: 195h

Penalties

  • ✅ No major spoof pattern
  • ✅ No fingerprint fields
  • ✅ Cookies not enabled
  • ✅ No connection type
Total visits: 132 First seen: Apr 5th, 2024 10:53 AM Last seen: Dec 12th, 2025 7:23 PM
Known Hostname(s)
fwdproxy-vll-006.fbsv.net
Known User Agent(s)
facebookexternalhit/1.1 (+http://www.facebook.com/externalhit_uatext.php)
meta-externalagent/1.1 (+https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/webmasters/crawler)
meta-webindexer/1.1 (+https://developers.facebook.com/docs/sharing/webmasters/crawler)
Known Accepted Encoding(s)
deflate, gzip

Common User-Agent Tokens

These are identifiers found inside user-agent strings we observed for facebookexternalhit.

Token
Seen
First seen
Last seen
facebookexternalhit/1.1
34,305
3/16/24
12/12/25
facebookexternalhit/1.1 34,305 seen
First 3/16/24
Last 12/12/25
10_11_1
2,004
6/8/24
12/12/25
10_11_1 2,004 seen
First 6/8/24
Last 12/12/25
facebot
2,004
6/8/24
12/12/25
facebot 2,004 seen
First 6/8/24
Last 12/12/25
twitterbot/1.0
2,004
6/8/24
12/12/25
twitterbot/1.0 2,004 seen
First 6/8/24
Last 12/12/25
acebookexternalhit/1.0
1
12/12/25
12/12/25
acebookexternalhit/1.0 1 seen
First 12/12/25
Last 12/12/25

Identity Links

These are URLs we observed in association with facebookexternalhit (often used as an identity, help, or policy link).

URL
Seen
First seen
Last seen
www.facebook.com/externalhit_uatext.php 32,295 seen www.facebook.com
First 3/16/24
Last 12/12/25
2
12/12/25
12/12/25
faviconkit.com/robots 2 seen faviconkit.com
First 12/12/25
Last 12/12/25
First 5/14/24
Last 12/12/25

Bot FAQ for this IP


Why is meta-webindexer visiting my website?

The IP address 173.252.79.6, associated with the bot name "meta-webindexer," is making automated visits to websites, as indicated by its user agent string (meta-webindexer/1.1) and hostname (fwdproxy-vll-006.fbsv.net). This activity is typically related to web indexing or content fetching for services operated by Meta (formerly Facebook), as referenced in the user agent documentation URL. Such visits often occur when content is shared or previewed on Meta platforms. To verify this, check the reverse DNS for the IP, review your server logs for user agent patterns, and consult Meta's official documentation. If these visits are unwanted, consider updating your robots.txt file, implementing IP-based allow/block lists, or using rate limiting and monitoring tools.

What does meta-webindexer do?

Meta-webindexer is a web crawler that appears to be used by Meta (Facebook) for indexing and retrieving website content. Its user agent and hostname suggest it is part of Meta's infrastructure for fetching web pages, likely to generate link previews or update content shared on Meta platforms. The bot requests various URLs, often related to content that may be shared or referenced on social media. For further details, review the user agent documentation provided in the user agent string. To manage its activity, monitor your access logs, set appropriate rules in robots.txt, and consider firewall or WAF policies if necessary.

Is meta-webindexer safe?

Based on the available data, meta-webindexer identifies itself as a legitimate crawler from Meta (Facebook) and uses a consistent user agent and hostname. There is no evidence of malicious behavior in the provided visit records. However, as with any automated traffic, it is important to verify authenticity. Recommended steps include performing a reverse DNS lookup to confirm the IP resolves to a Meta-owned domain, checking the user agent string for accuracy, and monitoring for unusual activity. If concerns persist, use allow/block lists, update robots.txt directives, and apply rate limiting or WAF rules as needed.

This page provides a detailed lookup for the bot with the IP address of 173.252.79.6, based on real-world traffic observed across websites using Track-A-Bot software. Use this information to verify whether activity from this IP belongs to a legitimate search engine crawler, or to analyze bot behavior on your website.