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Security report for archive.ph

Archive.today · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 8 critical or high findings in SSL/TLS, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

52/100

Risk levelMedium

0–100, higher is better. How it is calculated

Archive.ph (also known as archive.today) is a web archiving service that allows users to create permanent snapshots of webpages, preserving content even if the original page is removed or changed. The service targets general internet users who want to save and access unalterable records of web content. The website provides basic but functional user interfaces for submitting URLs to archive and searching the archive. The service is niche but important for digital preservation and web history. Technically, the website uses standard web technologies including HTML5, JavaScript, and JSON-LD structured data for SEO and semantic clarity. It employs HTTPS for secure connections and includes tracking scripts from Mail.ru and Google Adsense for analytics and advertising. The site is moderately optimized for performance and mobile use but lacks advanced accessibility features and security headers. From a security perspective, the site follows basic best practices such as disabling active scripts on archived pages to prevent malware and using HTTPS. However, it lacks important security headers and privacy/cookie policies, which are compliance gaps. The domain uses privacy protection in WHOIS, which is justified for this type of service. No critical vulnerabilities or malicious content were detected. Overall, archive.ph is a legitimate and functional web archiving platform with moderate technical maturity and some compliance gaps. Strategic improvements in privacy compliance, security headers, and transparency would enhance trust and security posture.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of archive.ph. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
Checks completed
7of 7

NIS2 Art. 21(2)

  1. (a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
  2. (b) Incident handling: One indicator
  3. (c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
  4. (d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
  5. (e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
  6. (f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
  7. (g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
  8. (h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
  9. (i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
  10. (j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside

This scan rated NIS2 with an earlier keyword method that is no longer shown; rescan for the per-article view. Risk management, continuity, supply chain, training, MFA, management oversight (Art. 20) and incident reporting (Art. 23) need internal evidence, and Guard cannot tell whether NIS2 applies to this organisation.

GDPR is indicative only, based on publicly visible signals: Articles 7, 12, 13 and 32 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Not a certification or legal assessment.

Priority findings

8 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. SSL/TLS

    TLS encrypts the connection and proves the site is really yours. Weak or expiring certificates trigger browser warnings and put traffic at risk.

    • Critical

      Unable to retrieve SSL certificate

      Could not establish secure connection to retrieve certificate information

      What to do: Check if the server is accessible and SSL/TLS is properly configured

  2. Security headers

    Security headers are instructions your web server sends to every visitor’s browser. Missing ones leave visitors more exposed to attacks such as clickjacking and injected scripts.

    • High

      Missing Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1
    • High

      Missing X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • High

      Missing Content-Security-Policy header

      Controls resources the browser is allowed to load

      What to do: Implement a Content-Security-Policy appropriate for your application

      • ASVS V3.4.3
      • OWASP Secure Headers: OWASP Secure Headers Project recommends Content-Security-Policy: default-src 'self'; form-action 'self'; base-uri 'self'; object-src 'none';…

  3. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

Need hands-on remediation? Email guard@offseq.com

Keep watching archive.ph

This scan found 20 issues across 6 checks. Monitoring re-runs those checks daily, emails you when something material changes and records each fix, so you can show progress.

Daily monitoring

Recommended

€25per month

  • TLS certificates and expiry
  • DNS records
  • SPF, DKIM and DMARC
  • Security headers
  • GDPR and NIS2 posture
  • Exposed services
  • Third-party trackers
  • Security score drift

Email alerts on material changes and an exportable JSON history of every change.

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Full report

€39.90one-time

  • The complete analysis as a PDF you can cite
  • Email delivery with an unlock code
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Prices incl. 21% VAT. Secure checkout by Mollie; sold by SEQ SIA, Latvia.

Results by check

Each check with its score, findings and the evidence it collected.

How this score is calculated

The security score runs 0–100, higher is better. It is the plain average of the security checks that completed in this scan, each counted equally. A check that could not run is left out: it counts neither as a pass nor as a fail.

Counted in this score

SSL/TLS
0
Security headers
20
Email security
70
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
52

Not counted

  • NIS2 outside view: Re-weights evidence from the TLS, email, DNS, network and hygiene checks, so counting it would count that evidence twice. Shown on its own.
  • OffSeq Observations: An AI reading of the site, useful context but not reproducible evidence. Shown on its own.

Findings that cap the score at 49

Each of these is serious on its own, so while any is present the site cannot rate better than high risk, however good the other checks are.

  • The certificate is not trusted by browsers
  • The website is not served over HTTPS
  • A database, remote desktop, file-sharing or Telnet service is reachable from the internet
  • The page loads a script from a compromised source
  • The domain registration has expired
  • SPF authorises every server to send mail as the domain

Partial scans

When the site blocks Guard or most checks cannot run, the score covers only the checks that ran (usually DNS and email), is capped at 75 and is shown as partial, without a risk level.

Risk levels

  • Critical0–25
  • High26–49
  • Medium50–75
  • Low76–100

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Archive.ph operates in the technology sector providing a specialized web archiving service. Its market position is niche but essential for users needing permanent web snapshots. The business model is service-based, offering free archiving with monetization through advertising (Google Adsense and Mail.ru). The target customers are general internet users, researchers, and digital archivists. The presence of a donation link (BuyMeACoffee) indicates community-supported funding. The company maintains a minimal but consistent brand presence and has a modest digital footprint. Partnerships appear limited to advertising and donation platforms. Growth potential lies in expanding compliance and security features to attract institutional users.

Security posture

The security posture of archive.ph is moderate. The site uses HTTPS, which is mandatory and well-implemented. However, it lacks important HTTP security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security, which could mitigate common web attacks. Forms use GET methods and do not collect sensitive data, reducing risk. The site disables active scripts on archived pages to prevent malware. Privacy and cookie policies are absent, indicating compliance gaps with GDPR and similar regulations. No incident response or vulnerability disclosure information is provided. Tracking via Mail.ru and Google Adsense is present without explicit consent mechanisms, which may pose privacy concerns. Overall, the site is functional but could improve security and privacy practices.

Recommendations

  1. Implement comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with clear consent mechanisms to improve GDPR compliance.
  2. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to enhance protection against common web vulnerabilities.
  3. Publish a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to improve transparency and incident response readiness.
  4. Review and minimize third-party tracking scripts or provide clear user opt-out options to enhance privacy.
  5. Enhance mobile optimization and accessibility features to improve user experience and compliance with accessibility standards.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Archive.today
Description
archive.ph allows you to create a copy of a webpage that will always be up even if the original link is down. It takes a 'snapshot' of a webpage that will always be online even if the original page disappears. It saves a text and graphical copy of the page for better accuracy and provides a short and reliable link to an unalterable record of any web page including Web 2.0 sites.
Key services
Webpage capture, Permanent snapshot storage, Search archive for saved snapshots
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
HTML5, JavaScript, JSON-LD, Open Graph, Mail.ru tracking script
Performance
moderate
Mobile
basic
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • Forms use GET method with no sensitive data
  • No active scripts on archived pages to prevent malware

Analytics and tracking

Services
Mail.ru analytics
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
poor

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Adsense, Mail.ru
Tracking pixels
Mail.ru tracking pixel
Marketing tools
Google Adsense, Mail.ru tracking
Transparency
basic

Site quality

Design
basic
User experience
basic
Content relevance
good
Navigation
good
Professionalism
good
Trustworthiness
moderate

Key observations

  1. Website provides a functional web archiving service
  2. No privacy or cookie policies found, indicating compliance gaps
  3. Contact email and forms available for user interaction
  4. Uses HTTPS and basic security practices but lacks advanced security headers
  5. Includes external tracking via Mail.ru and Google Adsense
  6. No signs of adult or malicious content
  7. Domain WHOIS is privacy protected, typical for this type of service
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using standard web technologies including HTML5, JavaScript, and JSON-LD for structured data. It uses Open Graph and Twitter Card metadata for social media integration. The site is hosted on IP 95.216.242.76 with no explicit CMS detected. Performance is moderate with basic mobile optimization. The site includes external scripts from Mail.ru for analytics and Google Adsense for advertising. No modern web frameworks or CMS platforms are detected. The site uses canonical URLs and OpenSearch for search integration. Technical debt appears low but the absence of security headers and privacy policies indicates areas for modernization and compliance improvement.
Standards and sources

Reference chips under each finding point to the standard, regulation or specification the finding relates to. They are taken from the official datasets below and mapped conservatively: a finding with no defensible link shows none. NIS2 and GDPR references mark where a finding is relevant evidence, not a compliance verdict. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2690 binds digital infrastructure and digital service providers; for other entities it is the most detailed public reading of the Article 21 measures. WCAG, EN 301 549, European Accessibility Act and Web Accessibility Directive references name the requirement an automated accessibility rule relates to; they are not a conformance verdict.

Retrieved 2026-10-25

Earlier scans of this domain

  1. 67/100Medium28 findingsView report
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