Hinweis: Diesen Beitrag gibt es auch (sogar ausführlicher) auf deutsch. Lies mehr über mein Plugin Anonymous WordPress Plugin Update Checks.

What is Anonymous Wordpress Plugin Updates about?

WordPress 2.3 has a new feature to check for plugin-updates automatically. While doing that it sends the following data to a server at wordpress.org:

  • your blog’s url and version number
  • a list of all installed plugins (incl. description etc.)
  • a list of all plugins that are activated

My plugin now replaces wordpress version and your blog’s url, strips most information off the plugin list (except name and version) and sends an empty list of activated plugins.

Beware: In order to activate the plugin you have to go to the Plugins page in the admin area. But this will already start the update check.

Workarounds:

  1. create the file wp-content/install.php and modify it to automatically activate the plugin on installation/upgrade (German Instructions)
  2. manual patch using the update.php from my plugin.
  3. send data once, but with only the default plugins installed. That way you will send the your blog’s url and version number, but wordpress.org would get that anyways (via Akismet, Pings, Core-Update-Check, etc.).

Versions:
0.1: Initial Test Release.
0.2: Added debug mode.
0.3: Added patchted update.php file.
0.4: Using wp_mail() instead of mail(); fixed a bug in debug mode.
1.0: Identical with 0.4; But tested by myself and found to be stable.

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