# Crawlbase introduces Web Bot Auth as an identity layer for bots, coinciding with pay-per-crawl pricing

> Crawlbase ships Web Bot Auth, a specification that treats bot identity as a verifiable signature rather than a self-declared claim, on the same day it launches pay-per-crawl pricing.

- Canonical: https://extractfeed.io/story/crawlbase-introduces-web-bot-auth-as-an-identity-layer-for-b-5dad3c5/
- JSON: https://extractfeed.io/api/v1/stories/crawlbase-introduces-web-bot-auth-as-an-identity-layer-for-b-5dad3c5.json
- Beat: Anti-bot & Blocking · Evidence: Primary source · Type/significance: launch/3 · First seen: 2026-09-05T14:59:01.937767+00:00 · Updated: 2026-09-05T14:59:01.937767+00:00 · Edition: 2026-09-06
- Framing: model-written (headline, standfirst, why it matters, tags); source facts deterministic

## Briefing
- Crawlbase: Crawlbase ships Web Bot Auth, a specification that treats bot identity as a verifiable signature rather than a self-declared claim, on the same day it launches pay-per-crawl pricing.

## Why it matters
By shifting bot identity from a claim to a cryptographic signature, Web Bot Auth could make it harder for malicious actors to impersonate legitimate crawlers, raising the bar for anti-bot systems. The simultaneous launch of pay-per-crawl pricing suggests Crawlbase is betting that verified identity will become a premium feature in the extraction ecosystem. For practitioners, this means bot identity may soon be baked into infrastructure rather than handled ad hoc, potentially simplifying compliance with site policies.

## Sources
- Primary source · Crawlbase · 2026-08-28 — [The Web Is Growing an Identity Layer for Bots](https://crawlbase.com/blog/web-bot-auth-signed-agents/)

## Watch next
Will major anti-bot vendors adopt Web Bot Auth as a standard, or will it remain a Crawlbase-specific feature?

Topics: Crawlbase, bot-identity, web-bot-auth, pay-per-crawl, cryptographic-signature, anti-bot

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