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Security report for hotjar.com

Hotjar Ltd. · Technology · N/a

Medium risk. 5 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view, Security headers and 1 other check.

Security score

73/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Hotjar Ltd. is a leading SaaS provider specializing in website heatmaps, behavior analytics, session recordings, surveys, and user feedback tools. Recently integrated into Contentsquare, Hotjar offers a powerful experience intelligence platform that serves over 1.3 million websites globally. The company targets businesses and digital teams aiming to optimize user experience and conversion rates through data-driven insights. Their business model is subscription-based with free and paid tiers, supported by strong branding and customer testimonials. Technically, Hotjar employs a modern web stack including React and Next.js, with Contentful as their CMS. They integrate analytics tools such as Heap Analytics and Google Tag Manager, ensuring fast performance and excellent mobile optimization. The website is well-structured, SEO-optimized, and accessible, reflecting a mature digital presence. From a security perspective, Hotjar enforces HTTPS, implements key security headers, and maintains secure data collection practices. While no critical vulnerabilities were detected, the absence of explicit incident response and vulnerability disclosure policies suggests room for improvement. Privacy compliance is robust, with comprehensive privacy and cookie policies aligned with GDPR and CCPA standards. Overall, Hotjar demonstrates a high level of professionalism, security, and compliance, making it a trustworthy platform for digital experience analytics. Strategic recommendations include publishing explicit security policies, enhancing transparency on data retention, and maintaining rigorous third-party script audits to sustain their strong security posture.

Scanned

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

5 findings rated critical or high. Fix these first.

  1. 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

  2. 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 X-Frame-Options header

      Prevents clickjacking attacks

      What to do: Add "X-Frame-Options: DENY" or "X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN"

    • 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';…

  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 hotjar.com

This scan found 20 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.

Billed monthly to your card. Cancel anytime. See sample alerts.

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
62
Security headers
30
Email security
80
DNS health
85
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
80
Average
73

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

Hotjar holds a strong market position as a top experience analytics platform, leveraging its integration with Contentsquare and Heap to offer comprehensive digital experience solutions. Their competitive advantage lies in combining heatmaps, session replays, surveys, and user tests into a unified platform. Revenue streams primarily come from SaaS subscriptions, with a large global customer base indicating healthy growth. The company partners with major platforms like Contentsquare and Heap, enhancing its ecosystem. Strategic observations highlight Hotjar's focus on ease of use, fast setup, and expanding capabilities, positioning it well for continued market leadership.

Security posture

Hotjar exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, presence of essential security headers, and secure form handling including consent mechanisms. Compliance with GDPR and CCPA is evident through detailed privacy and cookie policies. However, the lack of publicly available incident response and vulnerability disclosure information indicates a potential compliance gap. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected. The company should consider publishing explicit security contacts and policies to improve incident readiness and transparency. Overall, Hotjar's security practices align well with industry standards for SaaS platforms.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated incident response and vulnerability disclosure policy page.
  2. Provide a direct security contact email (e.g., security@hotjar.com) for reporting issues.
  3. Enhance transparency by detailing data retention policies and durations.
  4. Regularly audit and update third-party scripts to mitigate supply chain risks.
  5. Consider obtaining and displaying security certifications (e.g., ISO 27001) to boost trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Hotjar Ltd.
Description
Hotjar provides website heatmaps, behavior analytics, session recordings, surveys, and user feedback tools to help businesses understand user behavior and improve digital experiences. It is now part of Contentsquare, offering a more powerful experience intelligence platform.
Key services
Heatmaps, Session Replays, Funnels, Surveys, User Tests
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, Heap Analytics, Google Tag Manager, PartnerStack, Contentful CMS
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Contentsquare platform
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Security headers present
  • No exposed sensitive data detected
  • Secure forms with consent checkboxes

Analytics and tracking

Services
Heap Analytics, Google Analytics (via GA integration)
Tracking level
extensive
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Heap Analytics, PartnerStack
Marketing tools
Heap Analytics, PartnerStack
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 no blocking mechanisms.
  2. Strong integration with Contentsquare and Heap platforms.
  3. Comprehensive legal and compliance documentation present.
  4. Multiple customer testimonials and case studies enhance trust.
  5. Use of modern web technologies and analytics tools.
  6. No direct company contact emails or phone numbers found on main site; contact via forms.
  7. WHOIS data unavailable publicly, indicating privacy protection.
Technical notes

Notes

The website is built on a modern React/Next.js framework with Contentful CMS, ensuring fast loading times and excellent mobile responsiveness. Integration with Heap Analytics and Google Tag Manager supports advanced user behavior tracking. The use of asynchronous loading for scripts and preloading of fonts optimizes performance. The site structure and SEO metadata are well implemented, contributing to good search engine visibility. No technical debt or outdated technologies were observed, indicating a well-maintained infrastructure. Opportunities exist to further enhance accessibility features and expand security monitoring capabilities.
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. 73/100 −1Medium28 findingsView report
  2. 74/100 −2Medium27 findingsView report
  3. 76/100Low23 findingsView report
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