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Security report for goodreads.com

Goodreads, Inc. · Media · N/a

Low risk. 4 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

78/100

Risk levelLow

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

Goodreads, Inc. operates one of the world's largest online communities for book lovers, providing a platform for book discovery, recommendations, reviews, and social interaction. The website targets readers globally and offers services including author programs and advertising opportunities. Technically, the site uses modern web technologies such as React and integrates with major platforms like Amazon and Apple for authentication and hosting. The presence of multiple analytics and tracking services indicates a mature digital infrastructure with extensive user data collection. Security posture is strong with HTTPS and CSRF protections, though explicit security headers and incident response contacts are absent. The lack of WHOIS data is a minor concern but likely due to privacy or registry policies. Overall, Goodreads presents a professional, trustworthy, and content-rich platform with good compliance and technical maturity.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
58/ 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

4 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

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

Keep watching goodreads.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

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

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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
60
Email security
87
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
78

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

Goodreads holds a dominant market position as a leading book recommendation and social platform, leveraging a large user base and extensive content. Its business model includes advertising revenue and services for authors and publishers, indicating diversified income streams. The platform's integration with Amazon and Apple enhances user convenience and trust. The company maintains active social media channels and app presence, supporting growth and engagement. The absence of direct contact information on the homepage suggests a focus on self-service and digital interaction. The mature analytics ecosystem supports targeted marketing and user insights, critical for competitive advantage.

Security posture

The website demonstrates a solid security foundation with enforced HTTPS, CSRF tokens, and secure third-party authentication methods. However, the absence of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and X-Frame-Options represents an area for improvement. No visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The lack of a published security policy or incident response contact limits transparency and may hinder rapid response to security incidents. GDPR compliance is indicated through privacy policies and cookie consent mechanisms, reflecting awareness of regulatory requirements. Overall, the security posture is good but could benefit from enhanced header configurations and clearer security communication.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publish a comprehensive security policy including incident response procedures and contact information.
  2. Add security headers such as Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, and Strict-Transport-Security to strengthen protection against common web attacks.
  3. Enhance accessibility features to improve usability for all users, including those with disabilities.
  4. Consider providing verified company contact emails and phone numbers for customer support and security reporting.
  5. Regularly review and update third-party libraries and tracking scripts to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Goodreads, Inc.
Description
Find and read more books you’ll love, and keep track of the books you want to read. Be part of the world’s largest community of book lovers on Goodreads.
Key services
Book discovery and recommendations, User book tracking and reviews, Author program, Advertising services
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
JavaScript, React, CKEditor, Apple Sign In JS API
Frameworks
React
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • CSRF tokens present in meta tags
  • Use of secure authentication methods (Amazon, Apple sign-in)

Analytics and tracking

Services
Quantcast, ScorecardResearch, Comscore, Amazon CSM
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Ad networks
Google Ads
Tracking pixels
Quantcast, ScorecardResearch, Comscore
Marketing tools
Amazon CSM instrumentation
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 throughout.
  3. Multiple social media links and official app badges present.
  4. No direct company contact emails or phone numbers found on homepage.
  5. Use of modern JavaScript frameworks and third-party analytics/tracking.
  6. Privacy and terms policies clearly linked and comprehensive.
  7. No explicit security policy or incident response contact found.
  8. No WHOIS data available, which is unusual but not uncommon for large brands using privacy or registry restrictions.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern JavaScript stack with React, supported by Amazon Web Services infrastructure. It uses advanced client-side rendering and integrates with external authentication providers like Amazon and Apple. Performance is moderate with asynchronous loading of scripts and optimized font loading. SEO is well addressed with meta tags, Open Graph data, and structured data markup. Accessibility is basic but could be improved. The site employs multiple analytics and advertising technologies, indicating a sophisticated marketing and data collection strategy. No CMS was explicitly detected, suggesting a custom or proprietary platform. Overall, the technical implementation is robust and scalable.
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. 79/100Low25 findingsView report
  2. 79/100Low25 findingsView report
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