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Is gravatar.com a Scam? Security Check Results - Automattic Reviews

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Is gravatar.com Safe? Security Analysis for Automattic

Check if gravatar.com is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

TechnologyN/alarge
JavaScriptCSSHTML5REST API
Analyzed 9/5/2025Completed 12:47:25 AM
69
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

AI Summary

Gravatar.com is a well-established service owned by Automattic Inc., providing global avatar and profile management integrated across millions of websites. The platform offers free user profiles, link-in-bio pages, and developer APIs, targeting individual users and developers seeking consistent online identity solutions. The website demonstrates strong branding consistency, excellent content quality, and a professional user experience. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies, enforces HTTPS, and integrates analytics with privacy compliance mechanisms. Security posture is solid with domain protections and secure error logging, though DNSSEC is not enabled and explicit security policies are not published. Overall, the site is trustworthy, mature, and aligned with industry best practices.

Detected Technologies

JavaScriptCSSHTML5REST API

🧠AI Business Intelligence

Technology stack, business insights, and market analysis powered by AI.

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Gravatar operates as a free service within the technology sector, leveraging Automattic's ecosystem and WordPress.com integration. Its business model focuses on providing essential identity services to users and developers, enhancing user experience across platforms. The company benefits from a large user base, strong market position, and a developer-friendly approach with APIs and SDKs. Partnerships with WordPress.com and Automattic's other services strengthen its ecosystem. The absence of direct contact emails suggests reliance on support forms and centralized customer service. The domain's long age and registrar status reinforce credibility.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website maintains a good security posture with HTTPS enforcement, domain status protections, and secure error reporting mechanisms. Privacy and cookie policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, with user consent mechanisms implemented. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and no explicit security policy or vulnerability disclosure page is found. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the content. Incident response contact is available via abuse reporting. Overall, the security maturity is good but could be improved by adding DNSSEC and publishing formal security policies.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Company:

Automattic

Description:

Create a global avatar and profile image with Gravatar. Get a free one-page personal site to showcase your identity and connect across the web.

Key Services:
Global avatar hostingProfile managementLink-in-bio pagesDeveloper APIs
Content Quality:

excellent

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
JavaScriptCSSHTML5REST API
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientDeleteProhibited, clientTransferProhibited, clientUpdateProhibited domain statuses
  • No DNSSEC enabled (potential improvement area)
  • Error logging with debounce and secure POST
  • Cookie consent banner with customization options

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google AnalyticsWordPress.com Stats
Tracking Level:moderate
Privacy Compliance:good

Advertising & Marketing

Tracking Pixels:
WordPress.com Stats
Transparency Level:good

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:excellent
User Experience:excellent
Content Relevance:excellent
Navigation Clarity:excellent
Professionalism:excellent
Trustworthiness:high

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with rich content and no blocking mechanisms

🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

60/100
Score

Missing X-Content-Type-Options header

MEDIUM

Prevents MIME type sniffing

Missing X-XSS-Protection header

MEDIUM

Legacy XSS protection (deprecated but still recommended)

Missing Referrer-Policy header

LOW

Controls referrer information sent with requests

Missing Permissions-Policy header

MEDIUM

Controls browser features and APIs

Sensitive data may be cached

LOW

Cache-Control header should include "no-store" for sensitive pages

👤GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment under GDPR regulations.

GDPR Compliance

Privacy and data protection assessment

88/100
Score

Privacy policy may not be GDPR compliant

MEDIUM

Privacy policy lacks explicit GDPR compliance elements

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy85% confidence
Cookie Policy85% confidence
Contact Information Found90% confidence
phone

🛡️NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive compliance assessment.

NIS2 Compliance

Network & Information Security Directive

2/100
Score

No information security framework found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity and information security measures

No vulnerability disclosure policy

MEDIUM

NIS2 encourages coordinated vulnerability disclosure

No security policy documentation found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented cybersecurity governance and risk management

No incident response procedures found

HIGH

NIS2 requires documented incident response and business continuity plans

No business continuity planning found

MEDIUM

NIS2 emphasizes operational resilience and business continuity

No security contact information

HIGH

NIS2 requires clear incident reporting channels

No vulnerability reporting mechanism

MEDIUM

Clear vulnerability reporting supports coordinated disclosure

No NIS2 reference found

LOW

Consider explicitly mentioning NIS2 compliance efforts

Critical sector without clear security compliance

HIGH

Detected sectors: energy, transport, digital

📧Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation and email security assessment.

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

72/100
Score

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

No MTA-STS Policy

MEDIUM

MTA-STS enforces TLS for email delivery

No TLS-RPT Record

LOW

TLS-RPT provides reporting for email TLS issues

SPF
Sender Policy Framework
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication
MX Records
Mail Exchange Records
BIMI
Brand Indicators
MTA-STS
Mail Transfer Agent Security
TLS-RPT
TLS Reporting
DNSSEC
DNS Security
SPF Details
Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.automattic.com include:mail.zendesk.com -all
DNS Lookups:2/10
Policy:-all
DMARC Details
Policy:reject
Aggregate Reports:0bqp2jnw@ag.dmarcian.com
Forensic Reports:0bqp2jnw@fr.dmarcian.com

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

52/100
Score

Weak Protocols Supported

HIGH

Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

OCSP Stapling Not Enabled

LOW

OCSP stapling improves performance and privacy

Certificate Transparency Not Implemented

LOW

Certificate is not logged in Certificate Transparency logs

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 67 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

SSL certificate uses 256-bit key, which is considered weak

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 3 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Protocol Support

TLSv1.3TLSv1.2TLSv1.1

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

90/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

Domain Registration Details

Domain Age
21 years(mature)
Expiry Risk
none(677 days)
Protection Level
strongDNSSEC OFF

DNS Records

A Records:192.0.80.242, 192.0.80.239, 192.0.80.241, 192.0.80.240
Name Servers:
ns1.automattic.com
ns2.automattic.com
ns3.automattic.com
MX Records:
10: mx1.dfw.automattic.com
10: mx2.ams.automattic.com
SOA:Serial: 2023101211, TTL: 86400s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:40ms

SPF Analysis

SPF Record:
v=spf1 include:_spf.automattic.com include:mail.zendesk.com -all

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis.

Network Security

Port scanning and network exposure analysis

100/100
Score

Good Network Security Posture

LOW

No unnecessary services detected on common risky ports

🔧Technical Analysis

Detailed technical findings and analysis from AI assessment.

Technical Analysis

Comprehensive security assessment findings

Additional Findings

The website uses a modern tech stack including JavaScript, CSS, and HTML5, with REST APIs for developer integration. It is hosted under a reputable registrar and likely on Automattic infrastructure. Performance is fast with good mobile optimization and accessibility features. SEO is well implemented with proper meta tags and canonical links. The site includes cookie consent banners and analytics scripts with privacy compliance. No technical debt or major risks were identified. Opportunities exist to enhance DNS security and publish additional security documentation.
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