Short Description: Remove unnecessary meta tags and junk from your WordPress header for faster load times and cleaner code.

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Header Junk Remover is a lightweight, no-settings plugin that cleans up the <code><head></code> section and headers of your WordPress site.
It removes outdated tags, redundant links, bloated scripts, and unnecessary headers that WordPress adds by default. The result: cleaner source code, faster page loads, less information leakage, and fewer HTTP requests.
What gets removed (and why it matters):
<ul>
<li>
RSD Link 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘rsd_link’); 
Used for Really Simple Discovery (old remote editing). Not needed anymore.
</li>
<li>
WordPress Generator 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_generator’); 
Hides your WP version. Avoids advertising it to bots/hackers.
</li>
<li>
Feed Links 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘feed_links’, 2); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘feed_links_extra’, 3); 
Removes auto-added RSS/Atom feed links. If you don’t use feeds, these are pointless.
</li>
<li>
Relational Links (index, start, parent, adjacent posts) 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘index_rel_link’); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘start_post_rel_link’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘parent_post_rel_link’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘adjacent_posts_rel_link’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘adjacent_posts_rel_link_wp_head’, 10, 0); 
Removes old “previous/next” link metadata almost no browsers or crawlers use.
</li>
<li>
Windows Live Writer Manifest 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wlwmanifest_link’); 
Dead tool support. Safe to remove.
</li>
<li>
Shortlink Tags/Headers 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_shortlink_wp_head’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘template_redirect’, ‘wp_shortlink_header’, 11); 
Shortlink system is obsolete. Removing reduces clutter.
</li>
<li>
REST API Discovery Link 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘rest_output_link_wp_head’, 10); 
REST API still works, but no longer broadcast in headers.
</li>
<li>
oEmbed Discovery + Scripts 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_oembed_add_discovery_links’, 10); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_oembed_add_host_js’); 
Prevents WordPress from advertising oEmbed endpoints and loading extra JS.
</li>
<li>
Resource Hints (dns-prefetch, preconnect) 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_resource_hints’, 2); 
Stops WP from auto-inserting DNS hints you may not control.
</li>
<li>
Emoji Scripts and Styles 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘print_emoji_detection_script’, 7); 
 remove_action(‘wp_print_styles’, ‘print_emoji_styles’); 
Removes redundant emoji JS/CSS. Browsers already handle emojis natively.
</li>
<li>
Global Styles (Block Editor/Gutenberg) 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_enqueue_global_styles’, 1); 
Prevents WP from injecting default CSS that bloats your source.
</li>
</ul>
Extra Hardening:
<ul>
<li>
Disable XML-RPC 
 add_filter(‘xmlrpc_enabled’, ‘__return_false’); 
Blocks XML-RPC protocol (commonly abused in brute force/DDoS attacks).
</li>
<li>
Remove X-Pingback Header 
 add_filter(‘wp_headers’, function($headers) { unset($headers[‘X-Pingback’]); return $headers; }); 
Stops WP from advertising its pingback URL.
</li>
<li>
Turn off PHP Exposure (optional) 
 @ini_set(‘expose_php’, ‘off’); 
Prevents PHP version disclosure in server headers.
</li>
</ul>
Why this matters:
<ul>
<li>Less clutter in your <code><head></code> </li>
<li>Fewer HTTP requests and faster load times </li>
<li>Less information leakage for bots/hackers </li>
<li>Cleaner source code when you “View Source” </li>
<li>Safer defaults without touching your theme files </li>
</ul>
If you find this plugin useful, consider supporting my work: 
👉 <a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/avocadowebservices" rel="nofollow ugc">Buy Me a Coffee</a>

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