fastcompany.social is an independent Mastodon social network instance focused on providing a decentralized, ad-free, and privacy-respecting platform for users to participate in the fediverse. The site emphasizes ethical design and user data ownership, positioning itself as a privacy-conscious alternative to mainstream social networks. The platform is built on Mastodon version 4.4.3, leveraging modern web technologies such as React and ES modules to deliver a responsive and accessible user experience. While the site demonstrates a basic level of content quality and technical implementation, it lacks comprehensive privacy compliance features such as cookie consent mechanisms and detailed terms of service. Security posture is moderate, with HTTPS implied but no explicit security headers detected in the provided data. The absence of contact information and incident response policies limits transparency and user trust. Overall, the domain appears legitimate but privacy protected, which is typical for decentralized social network instances. Strategic improvements in security headers, privacy compliance, and user support information would enhance trust and compliance.
Scanned ·
NIS2 and GDPR posture
GDPR outside view
58/ 100 · Medium
Checks completed
7of 7
NIS2 Art. 21(2)
a(a) Risk analysis and security policies: Not visible from outside
b(b) Incident handling: One indicator
c(c) Business continuity, backups and crisis management: Not visible from outside
d(d) Supply chain security: Not visible from outside
e(e) Secure acquisition, development and maintenance, including vulnerability handling: Partly checked
f(f) Assessing the effectiveness of security measures: Not visible from outside
g(g) Cyber hygiene and security training: Not visible from outside
h(h) Cryptography and encryption: Partly checked
i(i) HR security, access control and asset management: One indicator
j(j) Multi-factor authentication and secured communications: Not visible from outside
Partly checked
One indicator
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
5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.
Email security
SPF, DKIM and DMARC stop others sending email that looks like it comes from your domain, a common route to phishing and invoice fraud.
Critical
No email authentication configured
Domain is vulnerable to email spoofing
What to do: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC immediately
GDPR outside view
These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.
High
No Cookie Policy found
GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage
What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes
This scan found 22 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.
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
52
Security headers
75
Email security
60
DNS health
75
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
70
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
Breach exposure
Leaked credentials and lookalike domains from OffSeq Breach. The counts are free; the detailed lists are paid add-ons.
Dark web exposure
Add-on
Leaked records that mention fastcompany.social, from OffSeq Breach.
No leaked records found
Breach holds no records for fastcompany.social right now. New leaks arrive continuously, so monitoring on Breach alerts you if that changes.
Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.
Business context
Business profile
The business operates as a small independent Mastodon server instance within the broader decentralized social networking ecosystem. Its market positioning is niche, targeting users seeking an ad-free and surveillance-free social media experience. The business model is community-driven and open source, relying on federation rather than centralized control. Key services include social networking and federated microblogging. The platform's partnership ecosystem includes Mastodon project resources and related open source communities. Growth indicators are not evident from the data, and no parent or subsidiary companies are identified. The lack of explicit business contact details and certifications suggests a grassroots or volunteer-run operation rather than a commercial enterprise.
Security posture
The security maturity level is moderate. The site uses HTTPS (implied by the WebSocket secure URL), but no explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy or HSTS were detected. There is no evidence of exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries from the provided content. However, the absence of incident response contact channels and vulnerability disclosure policies indicates gaps in security governance and transparency. Compliance with GDPR or other privacy regulations is minimal, with only a basic privacy policy present and no cookie consent mechanism. The security culture appears limited, likely reflecting the community-driven nature of the platform rather than a formal corporate security program.
Recommendations
Implement comprehensive security headers including CSP, HSTS, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options.
Add a cookie consent banner and detailed cookie policy to improve privacy compliance.
Publish clear terms of service and vulnerability disclosure policies to enhance transparency and user trust.
Provide accessible contact information for support and incident response to improve security posture.
Enhance accessibility and SEO features to improve user experience and discoverability.
Site observations
Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.
Business
Description
Mastodon is a social network focused on no ads, no corporate surveillance, ethical design, and decentralization. It allows users to own their data and participate in the fediverse.
Key services
social networking, federated microblogging
Content quality
basic
Branding
consistent
Technology
Stack
Mastodon 4.4.3, React, JavaScript ES Modules, SVG, CSS, WebSockets
Frameworks
React
Platforms
Mastodon
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
basic
Security
Observed score
55/100
Good practices seen
HTTPS enforced (implied by wss:// streaming API URL)
Analytics and tracking
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic
Advertising
Transparency
excellent
Site quality
Design
basic
User experience
basic
Content relevance
basic
Navigation
basic
Professionalism
basic
Trustworthiness
moderate
Key observations
Website is a Mastodon social network instance with decentralized social networking focus.
WHOIS data is privacy protected with no public registrant details.
No contact emails or phone numbers found on the site.
Privacy policy is present but basic; no cookie consent mechanism detected.
No terms of service or security/incident response policies found.
No advertising or tracking scripts detected; minimal user tracking.
Site uses modern JavaScript modules and React framework.
No security headers detected in provided data; HTTPS implied but not confirmed.
No adult or explicit content detected; content is safe for general audiences.
No WAF or blocking mechanisms detected; site content fully accessible.
Technical notes
Notes
The website is built on Mastodon 4.4.3, utilizing React and modern JavaScript ES modules for frontend rendering. The use of SVG for logos and icons supports scalable graphics. The site is mobile optimized with responsive design elements. Performance is moderate, with no explicit performance metrics available. The technical stack is modern but lacks some best practices in security headers and privacy compliance. There is no detected CMS beyond the Mastodon platform itself. Hosting provider details are not disclosed. Opportunities exist to improve technical SEO, accessibility, and security configurations to reduce technical debt and enhance operational resilience.
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.
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