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Security report for bitly.com

Bitly, Inc. · Technology · United States

Low risk. 3 critical or high findings in Security headers, SSL/TLS and 1 other check.

Security score

80/100

Risk levelLow

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

Bitly, Inc. operates a leading SaaS platform specializing in URL shortening, QR code generation, and link management solutions. Established in 2003, Bitly serves a broad business and marketing audience with advanced tools for digital engagement, analytics, and branded content delivery. The company maintains a strong market position as a trusted provider of link management services, supported by a comprehensive product suite and integrations with major platforms like HubSpot and Canva. Technically, the website is built on WordPress with modern JavaScript libraries and analytics frameworks, hosted on reliable cloud infrastructure with fast performance and excellent mobile optimization. Security posture is robust with HTTPS enforcement, security headers, and domain registration protections, although DNSSEC is not enabled. Privacy compliance is well addressed with clear policies and consent mechanisms. Overall, Bitly demonstrates a mature digital presence with high professionalism and trustworthiness.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
100/ 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. 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

  3. DNS health

    DNS sends visitors and email to the right servers. Misconfigured records can cause outages or let someone redirect your traffic.

    • High

      Domain Expires Soon

      Domain expires in 27 days

      What to do: Renew domain registration before expiration

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

Keep watching bitly.com

This scan found 16 issues across 5 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

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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
70
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
100
Average
80

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 SaaS offerings targeting marketers, developers, and enterprises needing link customization and tracking. Revenue streams likely include subscription plans and enterprise solutions. The company leverages partnerships and integrations to expand its ecosystem and enhance product value. Its target customers span industries such as retail, technology, healthcare, and financial services. The website content and structured data reflect a consistent brand identity and a focus on digital marketing innovation. Growth indicators include active content marketing, webinars, and a dedicated trust center. No parent company or subsidiaries were identified, indicating Bitly operates as an independent entity.

Security posture

The website exhibits a strong security posture with HTTPS, multiple security headers, and domain status protections. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Privacy and cookie policies are comprehensive and GDPR compliant, supported by a consent management platform (OneTrust). However, the absence of DNSSEC and a published security.txt file are minor gaps. Incident response contact information is not explicitly provided, which could be improved. Overall, Bitly maintains good security hygiene appropriate for its enterprise scale and industry.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC on the domain to enhance DNS security and prevent spoofing.
  2. Publish a security.txt file to facilitate responsible vulnerability disclosure.
  3. Add explicit incident response and abuse contact information on the Trust Center or contact pages.
  4. Regularly audit third-party scripts and tracking tools to minimize privacy risks.
  5. Continue enhancing accessibility and mobile experience to maintain high user satisfaction.
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, Snowplow Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Bing Ads, OneTrust Consent Management
Frameworks
Foundation (CSS framework)
Platforms
WordPress (CMS)
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Domain status includes clientDeleteProhibited etc.
  • Cookie consent implemented
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML

Analytics and tracking

Services
Snowplow Analytics, Google Analytics, Bing Ads
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Bing Ads
Tracking pixels
Snowplow, Bing Ads
Marketing tools
OneTrust Consent Management
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 navigation.
  2. Strong use of modern tracking and analytics tools.
  3. Comprehensive privacy and cookie policies with consent mechanisms.
  4. No exposed sensitive data or security vulnerabilities detected.
  5. Domain is well-established and consistent with business identity.
  6. No adult or questionable content present.
  7. Good SEO and accessibility practices observed.
Technical notes

Notes

The website uses a modern technology stack including WordPress CMS, Foundation CSS framework, and advanced JavaScript trackers such as Snowplow and Google Tag Manager. Hosting is distributed across AWS and Google Cloud DNS services, ensuring reliability and scalability. Performance is optimized with minified CSS/JS and asynchronous script loading. SEO is well implemented with meta tags, Open Graph, and JSON-LD structured data. Accessibility features like skip navigation links and ARIA roles are present, contributing to a good user experience. Technical risks are minimal but could be further reduced by enabling DNSSEC and maintaining up-to-date third-party libraries.
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. 79/100 −3Low25 findingsView report
  2. 82/100 +3Low23 findingsView report
  3. 79/100Low22 findingsView report
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