PublicRowsBot
If you are reading this, you probably saw PublicRowsBot/1.0 (+https://publicrows.com/bot) in your server logs. This page explains what it is and how to reach us.
What it does
PublicRowsBot fetches public pages and public JSON endpoints from a small, fixed list of sources and turns them into structured rows (for example government tenders and company-register records). It is operated by PublicRows, a one-person data publisher in India, and runs on the Apify platform.
How it behaves
- Identifies itself on every request with the user agent above.
- Reads and honours
robots.txt, including Disallow rules for query parameters and pagination. If your robots file disallows a path, the bot does not fetch it. - Fetches public pages only. It never logs in, never bypasses CAPTCHAs or rate limits, and never requests pages that are not linked for the public.
- Keeps request rates low, about one request per second per source, with pauses between pages.
- Collects structured facts only. It does not copy descriptions, images, reviews or page layout, and it strips personal names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of individuals.
Ask us to stop
Write to hello@publicrows.com with the host name. We stop fetching that host within 48 hours of your notice and confirm by reply. You can also block the bot in robots.txt:
User-agent: PublicRowsBot
Disallow: /The bot checks robots.txt before every crawl, so a block takes effect on its next run.