Recently, while updating my website, I’ve noticed a tiny smiley face in the bottom left corner of my website. I do regular security checks and keep my website updated all the time, so I didn’t think someone has hacked it, but still, I was a little bit concerned as I didn’t know where it came from.
Here’s how it looks:
What is the smiley face in the footer?
After a quick Google search, it turned out that the smiley face was being added by the Jetpack plugin. Why? According to Jetpack:
The image helps collect stats and makes the world a better place but should still work when hidden
However, Jeremy Herve, the Jetpack plugin contributor, says the image is no longer being used:
So how do you hide the smiley face?
To do this, log into your WordPress back-end and go to the ‘Site Stats’ in the Jetpack menu.
Click the ‘Configure’ link at the top of the page.
Scroll down to the ‘Smiley’ option and just check the box that says ‘Hide the stats smiley face image.’
And that’s it. The smiley face is now hidden.
Additional links
Here are some links and more information about the smiley face in the footer of the website: