Two people editing the same WordPress page need to know who else is there. The Presence API feature plugin is developing that visibility, and its 2 October update makes privacy settings a practical part of any trial.
The WordPress development update describes version 0.14.0 of a feature plugin requiring WordPress 7.0 and PHP 7.4. It isn’t a reason to assume your current site already has these controls. Check the installed plugin and version before giving editors new instructions.
Decide which visibility your team needs
For a small editorial team, knowing that a colleague is editing a landing page can prevent a confused handover. It can also expose information about someone’s activity. Agree the purpose of a trial with the people who will use it, and document who should see location information.
The update says recording is on by default. Site settings can switch it off; on multisite, a network setting can disable it across the network. Post locks continue working when recording is off. That gives administrators a concrete configuration to examine before enabling the plugin on a production site.
Ask the site owner to record the chosen setting and the reason for it. If an agency manages the site, include that choice in the handover notes rather than relying on the administrator who happened to install the plugin.
Test with ordinary editorial accounts
A trial under an administrator account won’t show what a contributor sees. Use two test accounts with the roles your editors actually have. Open a draft, check the visible status, then repeat with a page or custom content type used by your business.
The plugin’s update places other users’ locations behind a capability that maps to list_users by default. Everyone can see their own location. Check your role configuration instead of assuming every editor receives the same view.
Write down the observed behaviour. Check that the second editor can recognise a simultaneous edit and that each account sees only the activity information the team intended. Keep the test content disposable so the exercise doesn’t interrupt an actual campaign.
Include automated editing in the handover
The update describes presence rows for AI agents saving through REST or MCP, with identification supplied by another plugin or a filter. A badge therefore depends on configuration; it doesn’t prove that every automated writer will identify itself.
If your site uses automated editing, ask its maintainer to demonstrate the exact account and integration in staging. Watch what appears while it saves, then what remains afterwards. Keep a separate action log for accountability. An on-screen presence indicator is too temporary to serve as the sole record of a content change.
Treat the trial as a site change
Back up the staging site, note the installed versions and nominate someone to restore the previous setup if the trial disrupts editing. Our WordPress update checks for site owners offer related preparation advice.
Review the privacy text and the controls available in your exact installation before rollout. Explain simultaneous editing to the team. The goal is a clearer handover, with an explicit choice about the activity information the site records.
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