About this plugin
MaxtDesign REST API Control gives you complete control over who can access your WordPress REST API and which endpoints are available.
By default, WordPress exposes a REST API to the public, which can reveal usernames, post data, and site structure to anyone. This plugin lets you lock down the REST API for unauthenticated visitors while keeping it fully functional for logged-in users and the plugins that need it.
Key Features
- One-click disable — Block all REST API access for unauthenticated users with a single toggle.
- Endpoint whitelisting — Auto-discovers all registered REST API endpoints and lets you whitelist specific ones, even when the API is disabled.
- Per-role access control — Restrict REST API access for specific user roles with individual endpoint whitelists.
- Smart defaults — Automatically detects Contact Form 7 and WooCommerce and whitelists their required endpoints on activation.
- Zero frontend footprint — No CSS, JavaScript, or HTTP requests are added to your frontend. Ever.
- Lightweight — No database queries on frontend requests. Uses a single autoloaded option.
- Import/Export — Transfer settings between sites with JSON export and import.
- Clean uninstall — Removes all plugin data when deleted. Leaves no trace.
How It Works
The plugin uses the rest_authentication_errors filter — the correct, modern WordPress approach — to intercept REST API requests early in the lifecycle, before any endpoint logic executes. This means blocked requests have virtually zero performance impact.
Built for Performance
This plugin follows the MaxtDesign performance-first philosophy:
- Zero frontend asset loading (no CSS, no JS, no HTTP requests)
- Admin assets load only on the plugin’s own settings page
- Single autoloaded database option — no extra queries
- Filter fires before endpoint logic — blocked requests are fast
Privacy
This plugin makes no external HTTP requests, sets no cookies, loads no third-party scripts, and collects no analytics. ” It stores a single settings option ( mdra_settings ) in your database and nothing else; that option is removed when you delete the plugin. No personal or visitor data is processed or transmitted.
Security
Found a security issue? com rather than posting
in a public support thread. We aim to acknowledge reports within 3 business days and will agree a
disclosure timeline with you.
Please include the plugin version, steps to reproduce, and the impact as you understand it. We will
credit you in the changelog unless you would rather stay anonymous, and we ask that you do not test
against a site you do not own.
org by the account slaacr, which is MaxtDesign. The account
org does not support renaming accounts, so the two names
differ. Anything published under slaacr is ours.