# Contacts Created by Bots **URL:** \ **Category:** Product Support\ **Tags:** mautic-4\ **Created:** [February 11, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680 "2022-02-11T13:47:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![taxi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/taxi/32/522_2.png) [@taxi](https://forum.mautic.org/u/taxi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680/1 "2022-02-11T13:47:36Z")
Hello I’m looking at the issue that hundreds of contacts are created that contain only of an IP address. I deleted them via a campaign and changed the .htaccess file in order to prevent the creation of the contacts right away. I have noticed that the contacts are not only created when the user submits a form, but simply by visiting a webpage. How can I omit this behavior? Kind regards Christian ---
**Author:** ![ekke](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/ekke/32/296_2.png) [@ekke](https://forum.mautic.org/u/ekke)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 2:31pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680/2 "2022-02-11T14:31:20Z")
Hi Christian, Keeping track of anonymous visitors is absolutely intended. This way you can work with them intelligently (plus have additional insights once they are converted to known leads). But yes, the bots is what nobody wants… two things there: a) Turn on “Do Not Track 404 error for anonymous contacts” (Configuration → Tracking Settings) b) Create a simple housekeeping campaign that removes 1-hit contacts after a day or so Cheers Ekke * * * Ekke Guembel **Mautic Open Source Project, Team Lead "Community"** Mail: [ekke.guembel@mautic.org](mailto:ekke.guembel@mautic.org) Phone: +49 511 6262 9311 Profile & Social Media: [Ekkehard Gümbel | Leuchtfeuer.com](http://Leuchtfeuer.com/ekke) Mautic Podcast: [mauticast.de](http://mauticast.de) (DE) / [mauticast.com](http://mauticast.com) (EN) ---
**Author:** ![taxi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/taxi/32/522_2.png) [@taxi](https://forum.mautic.org/u/taxi)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680/3 "2022-02-11T20:52:08Z")
Many thanks for your response and the advice with the Tracking Settings. The housekeeping campaign I had already and it works very well. The question is, how can I turn an IP address into a contact? And how is a contact created from a visitor, that does not interact with my web page apart from browsing through pages, but not filling out any form? Cheers Christian ---
**Author:** ![ekke](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/ekke/32/296_2.png) [@ekke](https://forum.mautic.org/u/ekke)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2022, 8:02am UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680/4 "2022-02-12T08:02:50Z")
Technically, here’s not really a distinction between what we like to call “known contacts” (those where email exists) and “anonymous visitors”. And there can of course be e.g. contacts that have name and address but no email. It all depends upon data being added to the contact, e.g. through forms or via API (or CSV or other) from CRM, eCommerce,… ---
**Author:** ![raramuridesign](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/raramuridesign/32/13226_2.png) [@raramuridesign](https://forum.mautic.org/u/raramuridesign)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680/5 "2022-02-15T18:30:28Z")
@ekke Would you mind sharing the process for cleaning out bot contacts ie the segment settings? M. ---
**Author:** ![ekke](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/ekke/32/296_2.png) [@ekke](https://forum.mautic.org/u/ekke)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680/6 "2022-02-15T19:41:48Z")
That’s part 2 of this article: > **[Housekeeping: Help the Mautic Datenbank Stay Lean](https://www.leuchtfeuer.com/en/mautic-know-how/mautic/mautic-database-housekeeping/)** > > The Mautic database tends to grow huge very quickly, especially when integrated on higher-traffic web sites. A large percentage is basically junk, though. Here are some simple tricks to reduce that drastically. > Note that at the same time this... ---
**Author:** ![raramuridesign](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/forum.mautic.org/raramuridesign/32/13226_2.png) [@raramuridesign](https://forum.mautic.org/u/raramuridesign)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 11:11am UTC](https://forum.mautic.org/t/contacts-created-by-bots/22680/7 "2022-02-16T11:11:00Z")
@ekke Thanks. I have actually enhanced this slightly by adding in 2 further filters. Hope this helps others. M ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/mautic/original/2X/8/8df1f05a43ecafee118648b16ae2fffafa9a4433.png)