By default, WordPress automatically converts plain text URLs in comments into clickable links. A reader recently reached out asking how to disable this feature. The answer is yes—we'll walk you through the simple process below.
WordPress adds these links on the fly to make it easier for users to share resources and for moderators to review comments effectively.
This dynamic linking doesn't alter your database; it only applies when comments are displayed in the admin area or on your site's frontend.
While some users genuinely paste plain URLs without knowing better, spam comments often rely on this tactic too.
Add this one line of code to your child theme's functions.php file or a site-specific plugin:
remove_filter ('comment_text', 'make_clickable', 9);Since WordPress generates these links dynamically rather than storing them, this code removes the filter responsible, making plain text URLs non-clickable in both the admin and frontend comments.
Reversing the change? Just delete the line, and auto-linking resumes.
Recommendation: Always use a child theme or custom plugin to avoid losing changes during theme updates.
This tweak targets only plain text URLs—manually added HTML links will still function normally.
To fully restrict HTML in comments, see our guide on disabling HTML in WordPress comments.
We hope this helps you manage comments more effectively. For more tips, check our roundup of the 16 best plugins to enhance WordPress comments.
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