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Is picsum.photos a Scam? Security Check Results

picsum.photos Security Report Summary

picsum.photos received a security score of 55 out of 100 in Guard's comprehensive security analysis, classified as "Elevated Risk". picsum.photos operates in the Technology industry in N/a.

Lorem Picsum is a niche technology service providing developers and designers with easy-to-use placeholder images. The service offers dynamic image generation with options for size, grayscale, blur, and seeded randomness, sourcing images from Unsplash. The website is well-branded, professional, and optimized for mobile and performance, hosted on Fastly CDN. However, the lack of privacy, cookie, and terms policies, as well as absence of contact information, limits its compliance and trustworthiness. WHOIS data is unavailable due to unsupported TLD WHOIS queries, which reduces domain transparency but does not negate the legitimacy indicated by external references and GitHub presence. Security posture is good with HTTPS and no visible vulnerabilities, but could be improved with explicit security headers and published policies.

The security scan identified 33 findings across security headers, SSL/TLS, DNS health, email security, GDPR compliance, and NIS2 compliance analysis modules.

Technologies detected: HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Google Fonts, Google Analytics, Fastly CDN.

About this security scan

Guard performs automated security assessments of websites by analyzing SSL/TLS certificates, HTTP security headers, DNS configuration, email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), GDPR compliance indicators, NIS2 directive compliance, network exposure, and AI-powered business intelligence. Each report provides domain-specific findings, risk scores, and actionable recommendations.

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Is picsum.photos Safe? Security Analysis for Lorem Picsum

https://picsum.photos

Check if picsum.photos is a scam or legitimate. Free security scan and reviews.

TechnologyN/asmall
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptGoogle FontsGoogle Analytics+1 more
Analyzed 10/18/2025Completed 12:23:35 PM6mo ago
55
Security Score
MEDIUM RISK

Below Technology avg (72)

10,000+

Domains scanned

500+

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Domainpicsum.photos
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SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

AI Summary

Lorem Picsum is a niche technology service providing developers and designers with easy-to-use placeholder images. The service offers dynamic image generation with options for size, grayscale, blur, and seeded randomness, sourcing images from Unsplash. The website is well-branded, professional, and optimized for mobile and performance, hosted on Fastly CDN. However, the lack of privacy, cookie, and terms policies, as well as absence of contact information, limits its compliance and trustworthiness. WHOIS data is unavailable due to unsupported TLD WHOIS queries, which reduces domain transparency but does not negate the legitimacy indicated by external references and GitHub presence. Security posture is good with HTTPS and no visible vulnerabilities, but could be improved with explicit security headers and published policies.

Detected Technologies

HTML5CSS3JavaScriptGoogle FontsGoogle AnalyticsFastly CDN

14 urgent findings need attention

1 critical · 13 high

  • + 6 more findings in the full report below
Continuous monitoring

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Guard tracks your live infrastructure daily: certificate expiry, DNS & mail authentication drift, uptime changes, subdomain inventory, and unexpected tracker or content shifts. A full timeline captures every diff so you can prove remediation and spot regressions instantly.

Security drift alerts

Risk score drops, new high-severity issues, and header hardening gaps

Compliance watch

GDPR / NIS2 posture changes with governance evidence snapshots

Infrastructure surface

Unexpected open services, SSL expiry, DNS & email authentication changes

Content & tracker intelligence

Marketing tech shifts, analytics drift, and AI recommendation updates

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Security Headers

7 findings

35/100

GDPR Compliance

4 findings

35/100

NIS2 Compliance

9 findings

2/100

Email Security

6 findings

40/100

🧠AI Business Intelligence

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

Business Intelligence

Market & Strategic Analysis

Lorem Picsum operates as a small technology service targeting developers needing placeholder images for design and development. Its business model is based on providing a free API service with images sourced from Unsplash, leveraging Fastly for CDN delivery. The service is positioned as a reliable and stylish alternative to Lorem Ipsum text placeholders but for photos. The presence of GitHub repositories and social media links indicates an open-source or community-driven approach. There are no indications of monetization or partnerships beyond hosting and image sourcing. The lack of formal business information and contact details suggests a lean operation focused on utility rather than commercial enterprise.

Security Posture Analysis

Comprehensive Security Assessment

The website demonstrates a moderate to good security posture with enforced HTTPS and no visible forms or user input fields that could introduce vulnerabilities. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options is a gap. No privacy or cookie policies are published, which is a compliance risk especially under GDPR. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is provided, limiting transparency for security issues. The WHOIS data is incomplete, which reduces domain trust but is somewhat mitigated by the professional site content and external references. Overall, the security maturity is moderate but could be improved with better policy publication and security headers.

Strategic Recommendations

Priority Actions for Security Improvement

1

Publish comprehensive privacy and cookie policies to improve compliance and user trust.

Observations

AI-powered comprehensive website and business analysis.

AI-Enhanced Website Analysis

Business Insights

Description:

Lorem Picsum provides stylish placeholder photos that can be dynamically requested by size, grayscale, blur, and other parameters.

Key Services:
Dynamic placeholder image generationImage resizingGrayscale and blur image effectsSeeded random image generationImage metadata and listing API
Content Quality:

good

Branding:

consistent

Technical Stack

Technologies:
HTML5CSS3JavaScriptGoogle FontsGoogle AnalyticsFastly CDN
Performance:

fast

Mobile:

excellent

Accessibility:

good

SEO:

good

Security Assessment

Security Score:
85/100
Best Practices:
  • HTTPS enforced
  • No visible sensitive data exposure
  • No forms collecting user input

Analytics & Tracking

Services:
Google Analytics
Tracking Level:minimal
Privacy Compliance:poor

Advertising & Marketing

Transparency Level:basic

Website Quality Assessment

Design Quality:good
User Experience:good
Content Relevance:good
Navigation Clarity:good
Professionalism:good
Trustworthiness:moderate

Key Observations

1

Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenges.

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🛡️Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis and recommendations.

Security Headers

HTTP security headers analysis

35/100
Score

Weak Strict-Transport-Security configuration

LOW

Current value: "max-age=15552000"

Missing X-Frame-Options header

HIGH

Prevents clickjacking attacks

Missing Content-Security-Policy header

HIGH

Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

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

35/100
Score

No Privacy Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

No Cookie Policy found

HIGH

GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

No Cookie Consent Banner found

HIGH

GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

Third-party services without privacy policy

HIGH

Detected services: Google Analytics, Twitter, Google APIs

GDPR Compliance Analysis

Privacy Policy0% confidence
Cookie Policy0% 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

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📧Email Security

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

Email Security

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation

40/100
Score

No SPF record found

HIGH

SPF helps prevent email spoofing

No DKIM record found

MEDIUM

DKIM adds cryptographic signatures to emails

No BIMI Record

LOW

BIMI displays brand logos in email clients

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

No email authentication configured

CRITICAL

Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing

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

🏆SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis.

SSL/TLS Security

Certificate validity and encryption analysis

75/100
Score

SSL Certificate Expires Within 90 Days

MEDIUM

SSL certificate expires in 46 days

Weak SSL Key Length

HIGH

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

Partial SSL/TLS Assessment

LOW

Completed 2 of 4 security checks due to time constraints

Certificate Details

Subject:picsum.photos
Issuer:WE1
Valid Until:12/3/2025 (46 days)
SANs:picsum.photos, *.picsum.photos

OCSP Status

OCSP Stapling Disabled

📊DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment.

DNS Health

DNS configuration and security assessment

75/100
Score

DNSSEC Not Enabled

MEDIUM

DNSSEC is not configured for this domain

CAA Records Not Configured

LOW

Certificate Authority Authorization (CAA) records not found

No DMARC Record

MEDIUM

DMARC policy not configured

DNS Records

A Records:104.26.4.30, 172.67.74.163, 104.26.5.30
AAAA Records:2606:4700:20::ac43:4aa3, 2606:4700:20::681a:51e, 2606:4700:20::681a:41e
Name Servers:
fay.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
will.ns.cloudflare.comDNS only
SOA:Serial: 2384281213, TTL: 1800s

DNSSEC Status

DNSSEC Not Enabled

DNS Performance

Resolution Time:44ms

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

How does picsum.photos compare?

See how picsum.photos stacks up against similar websites in the same industry.

🔧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 HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Google Fonts, and Google Analytics for tracking. Hosting is provided by Fastly CDN, ensuring fast performance and global delivery. The site is mobile-optimized with responsive design and good accessibility features. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and Open Graph data. No CMS or frameworks are explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or lightweight implementation. The site does not collect user input, reducing attack surface. However, the lack of explicit security headers and privacy policies indicates areas for technical improvement. Overall, the infrastructure is solid with room for enhanced security and compliance features.
Professional PDF & Marketing Data

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PDF Report & Export

PDF download, email delivery, unlock code

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Marketing Intelligence

Contact emails, phone numbers & warm leads

49.90 €one-time • Incl. 21% VAT

Plan Comparison

FeaturePDF ReportMarketing+
Full security analysis
Professional PDF export
Email delivery
Lifetime access + unlock code
Contact emails & phones
Marketing outreach data

Already purchased?

Order summary

Domainpicsum.photos
Access tierFull report or marketing add-on

Digital reports are delivered immediately after payment. By continuing you acknowledge the withdrawal waiver described in our Returns & Refunds policy.

VisaMastercardApple PayGoogle Pay

Secure payments processed via EveryPay. Prices in EUR; Incl. 21% VAT.

SEQ SIA

Lastadijas 12 k-3, Riga, Latvia, LV-1050

Reg. No. 40203410806 • VAT LV40203410806

Support: guard@offseq.com+371 2256 5353

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