Heartbeat Control
At risk: no release in 38 months (last release 31 Aug 2023).
Capped at 59 while a Critical signal is open.
| Ownership | 100 |
|---|---|
| Maintenance | 0 |
| Security | 100 |
| Support | 70 |
| Reputation | 70 |
Active signals
Facts we detected, with links to the source.
Ownership timeline
Who commits to the plugin's code on wordpress.org, over time.
| wp_rocket | 20 Dec 2018 to 31 Aug 2023, 15 commits |
|---|
1 committer recorded. No ownership changes recorded since 3 Nov 2026.
Maintenance
- Last release
- 3 years ago
- Releases, 24 months
- 0
- Tested up to
- 6.3 vs 7.1
- Requires PHP
- 5.3 supported 8.2+
| Q1 2024 | 0 |
|---|---|
| Q2 2024 | 0 |
| Q3 2024 | 0 |
| Q4 2024 | 0 |
| Q1 2025 | 0 |
| Q2 2025 | 0 |
| Q3 2025 | 0 |
| Q4 2025 | 0 |
| Q1 2026 | 0 |
| Q2 2026 | 0 |
| Q3 2026 | 0 |
| Q4 2026 | 0 |
Last release 31 Aug 2023. Tested up to 6.3, 8 major versions behind WordPress 7.1.
Support
0% of 2 support threads resolved in the last 2 months.
Security record
No published vulnerabilities on record for this plugin.
Source: Wordfence Intelligence.
Reputation
| Q4 2023 | 1.0 |
|---|---|
| Q1 2024 | 5.0 |
| Q2 2024 | 5.0 |
Average rating rose from 1.0 to 5.0 between Q4 2023 and Q2 2024.
| 5 star | 50 |
|---|---|
| 4 star | 3 |
| 3 star | 3 |
| 2 star | 2 |
| 1 star | 10 |
- used its premium version but had to install this version to minimize the load · 1 star · 11 Dec 2023
- Dangerous · 1 star · 5 Jan 2023
- POST admin-ajax.php: time to load never less then 2 seconds on any page · 2 stars · 31 Jul 2022
Momentum
70,000+ active installs. History builds with each weekly snapshot.
| 4 May 2026 | 537 |
|---|---|
| 11 May 2026 | 907 |
| 18 May 2026 | 1,150 |
| 25 May 2026 | 915 |
| 1 Jun 2026 | 850 |
| 8 Jun 2026 | 894 |
| 15 Jun 2026 | 971 |
| 22 Jun 2026 | 785 |
| 29 Jun 2026 | 953 |
| 6 Jul 2026 | 892 |
| 13 Jul 2026 | 847 |
| 20 Jul 2026 | 799 |
| 27 Jul 2026 | 773 |
| 3 Aug 2026 | 790 |
| 10 Aug 2026 | 952 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | 800 |
| 24 Aug 2026 | 1,025 |
| 31 Aug 2026 | 1,055 |
| 7 Sep 2026 | 932 |
| 14 Sep 2026 | 821 |
| 21 Sep 2026 | 880 |
| 28 Sep 2026 | 794 |
| 5 Oct 2026 | 895 |
| 12 Oct 2026 | 901 |
| 19 Oct 2026 | 1,141 |
| 26 Oct 2026 | 1,254 |
| 2 Nov 2026 | 256 |
Weekly downloads over the last 4 weeks are 1% above the 27-week average.
Healthier alternatives
Same category, higher Canary Score. Never sponsored.
Facts
| Version | 2.0.1 |
|---|---|
| Author | WP Media |
| Added | 16 Nov 2014 |
| Last updated | 31 Aug 2023 |
| Active installs | 70,000+ |
| Requires WordPress | 3.6 |
| Tested up to | 6.3.14 |
| Requires PHP | 5.3 |
| Category | Performance & Optimization > Caching Solutions |
| Tags | heartbeat, admin-ajax, heartbeat api, server resources, heartbeat control |
Other plugins by this author: Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF, BackWPup - WordPress Backup & Restore Plugin, LazyLoad Plugin - Lazy Load Images, Videos, and Iframes, Adminimize, Search & Replace, Increase Maximum Upload File Size, RocketCDN - WordPress CDN Plugin
Questions
Is Heartbeat Control still maintained?
Heartbeat Control was last updated on 31 Aug 2023. Its Canary status is At risk.
Is Heartbeat Control safe?
Heartbeat Control has no open unpatched vulnerabilities on record. 0 vulnerabilities were published in the last 24 months. Its Canary status is At risk.
Who owns Heartbeat Control?
The wordpress.org author is WP Media. Recent committers: wp_rocket, JeffMatson, plugin-master. We have recorded no ownership change.
What can I use instead of Heartbeat Control?
Plugins in the same category with a higher Canary Score: Page Optimize, Jetpack Boost - Website Speed, Performance and Critical CSS, Performance Lab, Speculative Loading, Optimization Detective.