---
title: Exclude users, roles and IP addresses
description: Stop Pastmark from recording some users, roles, post types, IP addresses, meta keys, plugins, themes or cron tasks.
url: "https://docs.prefixwp.com/docs/pastmark/pastmark-settings/exclude-users-roles-and-ips/"
updated: "2026-11-10"
category: Settings
---

# Exclude users, roles and IP addresses

Exclusions tell Pastmark what **not** to record. Use them to remove noise from your log.

Go to `User Activity → Settings → Exclude Settings`.

[![The Exclude Settings tab with the fields Users, Roles, Post Types, Post Statuses, IP Addresses and Post Meta Keys](http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pastmark-settings-exclude.webp)](http://localhost/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pastmark-settings-exclude.webp)
User Activity → Settings → Exclude Settings.

Click **Submit** to save.

## What you can exclude

| Field | What Pastmark does not record | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Users** | Anything these users do. | Your own developer account. |
| **Roles** | Anything users with these roles do. | `subscriber` |
| **Post Types** | Changes to these post types. | `attachment` |
| **Post Statuses** | Changes to posts with these statuses. | `draft` |
| **IP Addresses** | Anything from these IP addresses. One IP per line. | `203.0.113.10` |
| **Post Meta Keys** | Changes to these post custom fields. One key per line. | `_edit_lock` |
| **User Meta Keys** | Changes to these user custom fields. One key per line. | `session_tokens` |
| **Plugins** | Activity of these plugins. |  |
| **Themes** | Activity of these themes. |  |
| **Exclude Cron Requests** | Events that happen during scheduled tasks (WP-Cron) and background tasks. |  |

## Wildcards

In the text fields you can use `*` as a wildcard. It means "anything".

- `_wc_*` matches every meta key that starts with `_wc_`.
- `203.0.113.*` matches every IP address from `203.0.113.0` to `203.0.113.255`.

Upper and lower case do not matter.

IP ranges in CIDR format, like `203.0.113.0/24`, do not work. Use `*` instead.

## Do and don't

- Do exclude your own IP address if your own work fills the log.
- Do exclude noisy meta keys, like `_edit_lock`, that change often.
- Don't exclude the **administrator** role on a live site. Admin changes are often the most important ones to see.
- Don't forget your exclusions. If an event is missing from your log, check this page first.