Security Alerts & Notifications

Get instant email notifications the moment important activity occurs on your WordPress site – logins, plugin installs, content changes, user account updates, and more. Alerts are a Premium feature of Activity Log Pro.

What are Alerts?

Alerts send you a real-time email the instant a specific tracked event occurs on your site – no more manually checking the activity log. You choose exactly which events trigger a notification and who receives them.

Alerts are organised into three independent sections that can each be toggled on or off:

• Security Alerts – user account and login activity
• Content Change Alerts – posts, pages, media, and other content changes
• Core & Plugin Alerts – WordPress core, plugin, and theme events

Setting Up Alerts – Quick Start

1. Go to Activity Log Pro → Settings → Alerts in your WordPress admin
2. Check Enable Alerts to turn the system on
3. Add at least one email address under Alert Recipients
4. Set your preferred Cooldown Period
5. Enable the alert sections you want (Security, Content, Core & Plugin) and tick the individual events within each
6. Click Save Alert Settings
7. Use the Send Test Alert Email button to confirm delivery

Enable Alerts

The master Enable Alerts toggle turns all alert email notifications on or off globally. Disabling it preserves all your individual event selections – simply re-enable it to resume alerts exactly as configured.

💡Note: All other alert settings are locked when the master toggle is off. They become active again as soon as you re-enable it.

Alert Recipients

Email Addresses

Enter the email addresses that should receive alert notifications. You can add multiple addresses, one per line. Any invalid email addresses are automatically filtered out on save.

Test Alert Email

Use the Send Test Alert Email button to send a sample alert to all configured recipients. The test email confirms your server mail configuration is working and shows you exactly what alert emails look like. The test email is clearly labelled as a test and contains no real event data.

💡 Tip: Always send a test alert after saving your recipients for the first time to verify delivery.

Alert Cooldown

The cooldown setting prevents your inbox from being flooded when a high-frequency event (such as repeated failed login attempts) fires many times in a short period.

When a cooldown is active, a maximum of one alert per event type is sent within the chosen time window. The next alert for that same event type will only be sent once the cooldown period has expired.

💡 Tip: The 15-minute cooldown is recommended for most sites. Choose No Limit only if you need to capture every single occurrence, such as in a high-security audit environment.

Security Alerts

Security Alerts cover user account and authentication events. Enable the section toggle, then tick each individual event you want to be notified about. Use Select All / Deselect All for quick configuration.

💡 Tip: Enabling Failed Login Attempt alerts is one of the most effective ways to spot brute-force attacks early. Pair it with a 15-minute cooldown to avoid inbox overload during an active attack.

Content Change Alerts

Content Change Alerts notify you when posts, pages, media, comments, menus, taxonomy terms, or widgets are modified. Enable the section toggle and tick the events you care about.

💡 Tip: If you run a multi-author site, enabling Post / Page Published and Post / Page Deleted alerts gives you immediate visibility into content going live or being removed without your knowledge.

Core & Plugin Alerts

Core & Plugin Alerts keep you informed about WordPress system-level changes – plugin and theme management, and WordPress core updates. These are among the most security-sensitive events on any WordPress site.

💡 Tip: Enabling Plugin Installed and Plugin Activated alerts is strongly recommended for any site where you want to ensure no unexpected plugins are being added – particularly on sites managed by a team.

The Alert Email

Each alert email includes:

• Event label – a clear title for what happened (e.g. “Plugin Activated”)
• Event description – a one-line plain-English summary
• Site context – the name and URL of the site the event occurred on
• Event details table – a structured breakdown of key data for the event (username, role, IP address, affected item, who made the change, timestamp, etc.)
• View Activity Log button – a direct link to the full activity log in your WordPress admin
• Manage alert settings link – a footer link back to the Alerts settings tab

The subject line format is: [Activity Log Pro Alert] {Event Label} — {Site Name}

Tips & Best Practices

• Start focused – begin with Security Alerts (especially Failed Login and User Role Changed) and Core & Plugin Alerts (Plugin Installed, Plugin Activated). Add more events as needed.
• Use the cooldown – the 15-minute default prevents inbox flooding while still giving you timely awareness of issues.
• Add a team inbox – consider adding a shared team or security inbox as a recipient alongside your personal address so alerts are not missed if you are unavailable.
• Test after every change – whenever you update your recipients or toggle events, click Send Test Alert Email to confirm everything is still working correctly.
• No Limit cooldown is for audits – only choose No Limit if you have a specific compliance or audit requirement. On active sites it can generate a very high volume of email.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will disabling the master Enable Alerts toggle lose my event selections? No. Disabling the master toggle simply pauses all alert emails. Your individual event and section selections are preserved and will resume exactly as configured when you re-enable it.

Can I set different recipients for different alert types? Not currently – all alerts go to the same recipient list. You can manage who receives which alerts by using email client rules or a shared inbox.

What happens if my cooldown fires and the event happens again within the window? The event is still recorded in the Activity Log as normal – alerts only control the email notification, not the logging itself.

The test alert was not delivered – what should I check? Ensure at least one valid email address is in the Recipients field and that your server’s mail function (or SMTP plugin) is correctly configured. Many hosts restrict wp_mail() – using an SMTP plugin such as WP Mail SMTP is recommended for reliable delivery.

Are alerts a Premium feature? Yes. Alerts are part of Activity Log Pro Premium. Upgrade here to unlock them.