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Security report for goatcounter.com

GoatCounter · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 2 other checks.

Security score

65/100

Risk levelMedium

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

GoatCounter is an open source web analytics platform designed to provide privacy-friendly analytics as an alternative to mainstream services like Google Analytics and Matomo. It offers both a free donation-supported hosted service and a self-hosted option, targeting personal website owners and small to medium businesses who prioritize user privacy. The platform emphasizes minimal data collection without tracking personal identifiers or cookies, aligning with GDPR compliance and privacy best practices. Technically, the website employs modern web standards including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, with optimized fonts and lightweight scripts to ensure fast performance and good mobile responsiveness. Accessibility is a high priority, with the interface designed to work well with assistive technologies. The site integrates its own GoatCounter analytics service, demonstrating a self-referential use of its product. From a security perspective, the site shows strong privacy-first design principles, avoiding personal data tracking and cookies. However, there is a lack of visible security headers and no published security policy or incident response information, which are areas for improvement. The absence of WHOIS data for the domain is a notable concern, potentially indicating privacy protection or registration issues, which slightly reduces the overall trustworthiness. Overall, GoatCounter presents a professional, privacy-conscious web analytics solution with a strong open source ethos. Strategic recommendations include enhancing security header implementation, publishing security and incident response policies, adding explicit cookie consent mechanisms, and clarifying domain registration details to improve trust and compliance.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
55/ 100 · Medium
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

6 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 Policy found

      GDPR requires clear information about cookie usage

      What to do: Add a dedicated cookie policy explaining cookie usage and purposes

    • 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
    • High

      Weak SSL Key Length

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

      What to do: Use at least 2048-bit RSA or 256-bit ECC key

      • CWE-326
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • Mozilla TLS: Mozilla Server Side TLS 6.0 intermediate: rsa_key_size 2048

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

Keep watching goatcounter.com

This scan found 25 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
  • Lifetime access to this report

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
50
Email security
70
DNS health
60
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
55
Average
65

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

GoatCounter occupies a niche market segment focused on privacy-aware web analytics, differentiating itself from dominant players by emphasizing minimal data collection and user privacy. Its open source business model supported by donations and self-hosting options appeals to privacy-conscious users and small businesses. The platform's competitive advantage lies in simplicity, accessibility, and transparency, with a clear target audience of personal website owners and SMEs. The project benefits from a strong community presence on GitHub and partnerships with organizations like NLnet. Revenue streams are primarily donation-based, with potential for growth through self-hosted enterprise adoption. The ecosystem includes integrations via JavaScript, tracking pixels, and backend middleware, supporting flexible deployment scenarios.

Security posture

The security posture of GoatCounter is moderate to good. The platform avoids common privacy pitfalls by not tracking personal data or using cookies, reducing risk exposure. However, the website lacks explicit security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS), and X-Frame-Options, which are recommended to mitigate common web vulnerabilities. There is no publicly available security policy, incident response plan, or vulnerability disclosure program, which limits transparency and preparedness. The missing WHOIS data for the domain raises questions about domain registration legitimacy, although the active and professional website presence mitigates some concerns. Overall, the security culture appears privacy-focused but could benefit from formalized policies and improved technical controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and enforce security headers including CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to enhance web security.
  2. Publish a comprehensive security policy and incident response plan to improve transparency and readiness.
  3. Add a clear cookie policy and consent mechanism to align fully with GDPR and privacy regulations.
  4. Clarify domain registration details and ensure WHOIS information is accurate and accessible to improve trust.
  5. Establish a vulnerability disclosure program and publish security.txt to encourage responsible reporting.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
GoatCounter
Description
GoatCounter is an open source web analytics platform offering privacy-friendly analytics as an alternative to Google Analytics or Matomo. It is available as a free donation-supported hosted service or as a self-hosted app.
Key services
Privacy-aware web analytics, Unique visit identification without cookies, Lightweight tracking script, Self-hosted and hosted options
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, woff2 fonts, HTML5, CSS3
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
excellent
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • No tracking of personal data
  • No cookies used for unique visit identification
  • Privacy-first design

Analytics and tracking

Services
GoatCounter
Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
excellent

Advertising

Tracking pixels
GoatCounter tracking pixel
Transparency
excellent

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF detected.
  2. Content is focused on privacy-friendly web analytics.
  3. No explicit contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage.
  4. No cookie consent mechanism despite privacy focus.
  5. WHOIS data missing, which reduces trust score.
  6. Strong open source and privacy compliance signals.
  7. No security.txt or incident response info published.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built using modern web technologies including HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, with optimized font loading and lightweight scripts to ensure fast performance. The use of self-hosted analytics demonstrates technical maturity and confidence in the platform. Accessibility is well addressed, with the interface supporting assistive technologies. SEO is supported by proper meta tags and canonical links. However, the absence of detected CMS or hosting provider information suggests a custom or minimal infrastructure. Security headers are missing, representing a technical gap. Overall, the technical implementation is solid with opportunities for security enhancements and improved transparency.
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. 66/100Medium33 findingsView report
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