Virtual Results

Where does
the spam go?

Every contact form and comment on your website gets a quick check before it reaches you. Here is what that check looks like, in six short steps.

Start the walkthrough Or watch the 30-second version
Clay illustration: messages travel from a little house past a magnifying glass into an approved tray, a spam folder tray and a discarded tray, with a globe for the wider network.
Click to move along. Each step plays once, then waits for you.

Think of every form submission as mail.

A showing request, a contact form, a blog comment. Before it reaches your inbox, your website seals it in an envelope with what it knows about the sender, and sends it to Akismet for a check.

Maple Street HomesContact us
Open house Saturday

Two new messages

M
Maria L.Is the backyard fully fenced? We have a dog.
Checking
B
Best DealsGreat post!!! CHEAP MEDS at best-deals-pharma.example
Checking

Akismet

Checks each one in a fraction of a second.

What goes in the envelope Name and emailIP addressBrowser or botPage it came fromThe message

Checked from every angle.

No single clue decides. Akismet weighs the words, the sender's history, how the form was filled in, and what other sites are seeing right now.

The check
B
Best DealsGreat post!!! CHEAP MEDS at best-deals-pharma.example
M
Maria L.Is the backyard fully fenced? We have a dog.

Example signals, simplified. Akismet's real model weighs far more.

One site's catch protects them all.

Akismet watches over a huge network of websites. When spam turns up on one of them, the same sender, link or message gets stopped everywhere else.

Spam caught on a siteSite now protectedSimulated

Network activity Example

    Then it gets sorted.

    Akismet sends back a verdict: spam or not spam, with an extra flag for the very worst. Your website files each one where it belongs.

    Just arrived
      

    Approved0

    Not spam. It lands in your inbox or gets published.

    Spam folder0

    Held so you can double-check. Cleared out after 15 days.

    Discarded0

    The worst spam, never shown at all. An optional setting.

    Wrong pile? Move it.

    No filter is perfect. Click Not Spam to rescue a real message, or Spam to catch one that slipped through. Akismet learns from every correction.

    Maple Street HomesMessages
    Approved
    Spam folder

    Akismet

    Corrections from your site

    Not spam

    Priya S. is a real person

    Her messages are trusted on every site in the network.
    Spam

    Rank Boost Pro is spam

    That message pattern is now blocked everywhere.
    One click here. Better filtering everywhere.
    Not spam ↗ Spam ↗

    It gets smarter every day.

    Check, sort, correct, learn. It runs constantly, on every site, so the next check is sharper than the last.

    The more people correct it, the better it gets for everyone.
    1

    Submitted

    A form or comment on any site using Akismet.

    2

    Checked

    Words, sender, behavior and the whole network.

    3

    Sorted

    Approved, spam folder or discarded.

    4

    Corrected

    People click Not Spam or Spam.

    5

    Learned

    Every site gets the lesson.

    Then it starts again.

    Questions about your site? Virtual Results can help.

    Arrow keys work too. Press F for full screen.On a phone? Turn it sideways and tap Full screen.

    Prefer to watch?

    The same story in 30 seconds, with sound. Share it with anyone who asks how their website handles spam.

    Want to check
    your own site?

    Look in your website's spam folder every week or two. Anything real that got caught is one click away from your inbox.

    Not sure where that folder is, or whether your forms are protected? Ask us. We will look with you.

    Read the article