Bytespider
ByteDance · reviewed 2026-11-05
About Bytespider
ByteDance's training crawler; the noisiest AI crawler on many logs.
Operates TikTok and Doubao; TikTokSpider indexes web content, Bytespider/Doubaobot collect training data.
Usually means: A model provider fetched this URL for future training data. It does not mean today's answers cite the page.
Identity
User agent
Crawlers are matched by token, not the full browser string. Providers may add version or product text around it.
robots.txt token
Use this token in a User-agent line to allow or block the crawler.
Block this token
User-agent: Bytespider Disallow: /
A Disallow only stops crawlers that honor robots.txt. Classify the category before blocking; check the live file with the robots.txt checker.
Verify a hit
A matching user agent is not proof: any client can send the string. When the vendor publishes network data, compare the request against it before you trust the hit.
Match the user agent
Request UA contains Bytespider.
Check reverse DNS
The vendor publishes no reverse-DNS suffix.
Check the IP range
The vendor publishes no IP ranges.
A verified hit proves the network path; it does not prove what the crawler will do with the page.
Bytespider: common questions
What is Bytespider?
Bytespider is a crawler from ByteDance, filed under Training. ByteDance's training crawler; the noisiest AI crawler on many logs. Requests advertise it in the User-Agent header as Bytespider.
Does Bytespider train AI models?
Yes. It collects content for model training, which shapes future models rather than today's answers or citations.
How do I block Bytespider in robots.txt?
Add a group with User-agent: Bytespider and Disallow: / to robots.txt, then re-test the live file. robots.txt matches the token, not the full User-Agent string, and blocking this token does not block the vendor's other crawlers.
How do I verify a Bytespider hit?
Only by user agent. ByteDance publishes neither reverse DNS nor IP ranges, so a match is not checked — that is not the same as forged, but it is not proof either.
Bytespider vs TikTokSpider: what is the difference?
TikTokSpider is filed under Search engines, while Bytespider is filed under Training. They use separate robots.txt tokens: blocking one does not block the other, and a hit from one says nothing about the other.
Testing a block? Run the live file through the robots.txt tester or check the whole AI crawler access group.
See when Bytespider hits your site
Page scripts never see AI crawlers because they do not run JavaScript. Install the server probe and each hit lands in the Crawlers block with its path and status.