Title: Fatal error (eeb_protect_emails function)
Last modified: January 7, 2026

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# Fatal error (eeb_protect_emails function)

 *  Resolved [la_ri_za](https://wordpress.org/support/users/la_ri_za/)
 * (@la_ri_za)
 * [5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-eeb_protect_emails-function/)
 * After upgrading to 2.3.9 I see this error
 *     ```wp-block-code
       [07-Jan-2026 11:56:50 UTC] PHP Fatal error:  Uncaught Error: Call to undefined method OnlineOptimisation\EmailEncoderBundle\Validate\Validate::filter_content() in .../wp-content/plugins/email-encoder-bundle/core/includes/functions/template-tags.php:155Stack trace:#0 .../wp-content/plugins/email-encoder-bundle/core/includes/functions/template-tags.php(142): eeb_protect_emails()...
       ```
   

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

 *  Plugin Author [Ivan](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ooivan/)
 * (@ooivan)
 * [5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-eeb_protect_emails-function/#post-18778537)
 * Hi [@la_ri_za](https://wordpress.org/support/users/la_ri_za/)
 * Thanks for bringing this to our attention. We found a bug that could trigger 
   an error under specific conditions, and it’s been fixed in the latest release.
 * Please update the plugin (v2.4.0) and check if everything works as expected now.
 *  Thread Starter [la_ri_za](https://wordpress.org/support/users/la_ri_za/)
 * (@la_ri_za)
 * [4 months, 4 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-eeb_protect_emails-function/#post-18778863)
 * Great, thank you! Everything works now. 🙂
 *  [leanderbraunschweig](https://wordpress.org/support/users/leanderbraunschweig/)
 * (@leanderbraunschweig)
 * [4 months, 4 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-eeb_protect_emails-function/#post-18779904)
 * [@ooivan](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ooivan/)
 * The changelog entries for the last five version all state
 * > Fix: Bug fixes
 * As a developer I am relying on a proper changelog in order to determine what 
   every version brings about in terms of code changes and I would appreciate if
   you could provide us with a more elaborate protocol.
 * That said: Thank you very much for providing the plugin and makeing the (WordPress-)
   web a safer place!
 *  Plugin Author [Ivan](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ooivan/)
 * (@ooivan)
 * [4 months, 3 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-eeb_protect_emails-function/#post-18782491)
 * Hi [@leanderbraunschweig](https://wordpress.org/support/users/leanderbraunschweig/)
 * That’s a totally fair point, and I agree with you!
   I was (perhaps a bit too much)
   following the “best practice” you often see from big players, where changes get
   bundled under vague labels like “bug fixes”, “security update”, or “various improvements”.
 * What we’ve been doing recently is modernising the codebase while keeping all 
   existing functionality intact. The plugin has been around for quite a while, 
   and over the years it’s lived through multiple PHP and WordPress versions, along
   with coding standards and best practices that made sense at the time. Untangling
   that isn’t trivial.
 * A lot of the recent “bug fixes” are actually part of this cleanup work: improving
   structure, testability, reliability, removing dead code, and addressing issues
   we uncovered along the way – some of which were genuine bugs. It’s very much 
   a work in progress, but the goal is to move away from just carrying legacy code
   forward and instead properly clean things up before building further.
 * I’ll definitely be more explicit in the changelog going forward. Thanks for calling
   it out 🙂
    -  This reply was modified 4 months, 3 weeks ago by [Ivan](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ooivan/).

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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 * ![](https://ps.w.org/email-encoder-bundle/assets/icon-256x256.png?rev=2056506)
 * [Email Encoder - Protect Email Addresses and Phone Numbers](https://wordpress.org/plugins/email-encoder-bundle/)
 * [Frequently Asked Questions](https://wordpress.org/plugins/email-encoder-bundle/#faq)
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 * 5 replies
 * 3 participants
 * Last reply from: [Ivan](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ooivan/)
 * Last activity: [4 months, 3 weeks ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/fatal-error-eeb_protect_emails-function/#post-18782491)
 * Status: resolved