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Security report for bitly.com

Bitly, Inc. · Technology · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

79/100

Risk levelLow

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

Bitly, Inc. operates a mature and well-established SaaS platform specializing in URL shortening, QR code generation, and link management solutions. Founded in 2003, Bitly has positioned itself as a leader in the technology sector, serving a broad business and marketing audience with a comprehensive Connections Platform. The website reflects a high level of digital maturity, leveraging modern web technologies, cloud hosting, and performance optimizations to deliver a fast, accessible, and mobile-optimized user experience. Security and compliance are well addressed, with HTTPS enforcement, SOC 2 Type 2 certification, GDPR and CCPA compliance, and cookie consent mechanisms in place. However, there is room for improvement in publicly documenting incident response and vulnerability disclosure policies. Overall, Bitly presents a trustworthy and professional online presence aligned with its market position.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of bitly.com. View the latest report

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
80/ 100 · Low
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

3 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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 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';…

  2. GDPR outside view

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

    • High

      No Cookie Consent Banner found

      GDPR requires explicit consent for non-essential cookies

      What to do: Implement a cookie consent banner that appears on first visit

  3. 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.

    • High

      Weak Protocols Supported

      Server supports weak protocols: TLSv1.1

      What to do: Disable TLS 1.0, TLS 1.1, and all SSL versions

      • CWE-327
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V12.1.1

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

Keep watching bitly.com

This scan found 17 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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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
77
Security headers
45
Email security
85
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
79

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

Bitly's business model centers on providing scalable link management and QR code solutions to enterprises and marketers, supported by a strong integration ecosystem including partners like HubSpot and Canva. The company targets diverse industries such as retail, healthcare, financial services, and technology, offering tailored solutions for different business sizes and teams. The platform's extensive user base, monthly link creation volume, and app integrations underscore its market penetration and competitive advantage. Bitly's strategic focus on analytics, branding, and ease of use supports customer retention and growth. The website content and structure reinforce Bitly's credibility and thought leadership in digital marketing technology.

Security posture

Bitly demonstrates a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, domain registration protections, and compliance with major privacy regulations. The presence of SOC 2 Type 2 certification and GDPR/CCPA badges indicates adherence to recognized security frameworks and data protection standards. The website employs cookie consent management and integrates security-related scripts responsibly. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analysis. However, the absence of a publicly available incident response contact and vulnerability disclosure policy represents a gap in transparency and readiness. Enhancing these areas would further strengthen Bitly's security culture and customer trust.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a clear incident response contact channel and process on the website.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file.
  3. Add or verify presence of security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options.
  4. Continue monitoring and updating third-party libraries to avoid vulnerabilities.
  5. Enhance transparency around data retention policies and user privacy controls.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Bitly, Inc.
Description
Bitly’s Connections Platform is more than a free URL shortener, with robust link management software, advanced QR Code features, and a landing page solution.
Key services
URL Shortener, QR Code Generator, 2D Barcodes, Analytics, Landing Pages
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, jQuery, Google Tag Manager, Optimizely, ProfitWell, OneTrust, UserWay Accessibility Widget
Frameworks
Foundation (CSS framework)
Platforms
AWS (DNS via awsdns), Google Cloud (DNS via googledomains)
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • ClientDeleteProhibited domain status
  • Cookie consent mechanism
  • SOC 2 Type 2 compliance
  • GDPR and CCPA compliance

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), ProfitWell
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Optimizely, ProfitWell
Marketing tools
Optimizely, ProfitWell, OneTrust
Transparency
good

Site quality

Design
excellent
User experience
excellent
Content relevance
excellent
Navigation
excellent
Professionalism
excellent
Trustworthiness
high

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with rich content and interactive features.
  2. Strong branding and consistent design across pages.
  3. Multiple language support with localized URLs.
  4. Comprehensive product and feature offerings clearly presented.
  5. Robust integration ecosystem with major platforms like HubSpot and Canva.
  6. Active social media presence on major platforms.
  7. Cookie consent and privacy compliance mechanisms implemented.
  8. Use of modern web technologies and performance optimizations.
  9. Security certifications and compliance badges prominently displayed.
  10. No exposed sensitive data or obvious vulnerabilities detected.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on WordPress CMS with a modern front-end stack including JavaScript, jQuery, and Foundation CSS framework. It leverages cloud hosting via AWS CloudFront CDN and Google Cloud DNS services, ensuring high availability and performance. Integration with marketing and analytics tools such as Google Tag Manager, Optimizely, ProfitWell, and OneTrust indicates a sophisticated digital marketing infrastructure. The site is mobile-optimized and accessible, with lazy loading and responsive design techniques. Technical risks are minimal, with no visible outdated or vulnerable libraries. Opportunities exist to improve security headers and formalize security policies publicly.
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. 80/100 −2Low24 findingsView report
  2. 82/100 +3Low23 findingsView report
  3. 79/100Low22 findingsView report
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