Skip to main content

Security report for lemmy.world

Schilders IT b.v. · Technology · Netherlands

Medium risk. 6 critical or high findings in Security headers, GDPR outside view and 1 other check.

Security score

71/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Lemmy.World is a community-driven, federated discussion platform based on the open-source Lemmy software. It serves a global audience interested in diverse topics, providing a decentralized alternative to traditional social media. The platform is operated by Schilders IT b.v. under the umbrella of the FediHosting Foundation, emphasizing open communication, user privacy, and community moderation. The website offers multiple user interfaces and integrates with other fediverse services such as Mastodon and Matrix. Technically, the site employs modern web technologies including Inferno.js and ActivityPub protocol, with Cloudflare DNS services. Security posture is strong with HTTPS enforcement, clientTransferProhibited domain status, and active moderation, although DNSSEC is not enabled and explicit security policies are not published. Privacy compliance is supported by comprehensive terms and privacy policies, but lacks a cookie consent mechanism. Overall, Lemmy.World presents a trustworthy, well-maintained platform with a focus on user freedom and community engagement.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
35/ 100 · High
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 Strict-Transport-Security header

      Forces HTTPS connections

      What to do: Add "Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains; preload"

      • CWE-319
      • OWASP A04:2025
      • ASVS V3.4.1

  2. GDPR outside view

    These are the privacy signals visitors and data protection authorities look for under GDPR.

    • High

      No Privacy Policy found

      GDPR requires a clear and accessible privacy policy

      What to do: Add a comprehensive privacy policy page and link to it prominently

    • 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

    • High

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: YouTube

      What to do: Document all third-party data sharing in your privacy policy

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

Keep watching lemmy.world

This scan found 19 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
75
Security headers
65
Email security
70
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
35
Average
71

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

Lemmy.World positions itself as a general-purpose Lemmy instance within the federated social media ecosystem, targeting users seeking decentralized and open discussion forums. Its business model is community-supported, relying on donations via platforms like Ko-Fi, Patreon, and Open Collective. The platform benefits from a large active user base and a network of partner communities, enhancing its reach and engagement. The association with the FediHosting Foundation adds credibility and operational support. The site maintains clear community rules and moderation policies to foster respectful discourse. Growth indicators include active community creation, multiple UI options, and integration with other fediverse instances. Strategic partnerships with related domains and social media channels strengthen its ecosystem presence.

Security posture

The security posture of Lemmy.World is solid, with HTTPS enforced and multiple security headers detected, contributing to a good Mozilla Observatory grade. The domain is protected against unauthorized transfers, and user registration includes CAPTCHA and email verification to mitigate abuse. Content reporting mechanisms and moderation teams are active, enhancing platform safety. However, the absence of DNSSEC and a formal vulnerability disclosure policy are areas for improvement. No critical vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected. The platform does not appear to use intrusive tracking or advertising, supporting user privacy. Incident response and security policy documentation are not publicly available, which could be enhanced to improve transparency and readiness.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to improve domain name system security and prevent DNS spoofing.
  2. Implement a cookie consent banner to comply fully with GDPR and enhance user privacy transparency.
  3. Publish a formal security policy and incident response plan to inform users and stakeholders of security practices and procedures.
  4. Establish a vulnerability disclosure program and publish a security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Enhance accessibility features to improve usability for users with disabilities and comply with accessibility standards.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Schilders IT b.v.
Description
Lemmy.World is a general-purpose Lemmy instance of various topics, for the entire world to use.
Key services
federated discussion platform, community hosting, content sharing
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
ActivityPub, Lemmy software, Cloudflare DNS and nameservers, HTML5, JavaScript
Platforms
Fediverse
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Client transfer prohibited domain status
  • Captcha enabled on registration
  • Email verification required
  • Content reporting mechanisms

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. The website is a federated social platform based on Lemmy software.
  2. It has a clear community moderation and content policy.
  3. The site is part of the FediHosting Foundation, indicating a non-profit or community-driven model.
  4. Security practices are good but could be improved with DNSSEC and explicit security policies.
  5. No signs of malicious or suspicious activity detected.
  6. The site supports multiple languages and has a large active user base.
  7. No advertising or tracking services detected, supporting user privacy.
  8. Contact is primarily via email; no phone or physical address found.
  9. No cookie consent mechanism detected despite GDPR compliance claims.
Technical notes

Notes

Lemmy.World utilizes a modern technology stack centered around the Lemmy federated platform, leveraging ActivityPub for interoperability within the fediverse. The front-end uses Inferno.js, a performant JavaScript framework, and the site is optimized for mobile devices with multiple UI options. Hosting details are not fully disclosed but DNS is managed via Cloudflare, providing reliable DNS services. Performance is moderate with good SEO and meta tag implementation. The site lacks some advanced analytics and tracking, favoring user privacy. Technical debt appears low with active updates and community engagement. Opportunities exist to improve security configurations and accessibility compliance to further strengthen the platform's technical maturity.
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

Reviews of this site

Share your experience with lemmy.world. Every review is verified by email and published after moderation.

Overall rating
Select a rating
4000 characters remaining

We’ll email you to confirm your review and keep your details private.

Community rating

No published reviews yet. Be the first to review lemmy.world.

Feedback on this report

Rate this report, add an optional comment, and tell us if you want a security specialist to follow up.

Overall report quality
Select a rating
2000 characters remaining

We only use your feedback to improve Guard reports. Contact details are never shared.