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Security report for pexels.com

Pexels · Media · N/a

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

Security score

74/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Pexels is a prominent online platform offering free stock photos and videos, catering to a broad audience including content creators, marketers, and designers. The platform boasts a large and diverse content library with high-quality, royalty-free media that requires no attribution, positioning itself as a leader in the free media space. Technically, Pexels employs modern web technologies such as React and Next.js, ensuring a fast, responsive, and accessible user experience across devices. The site integrates advanced analytics and consent management tools to maintain compliance with privacy regulations. Security-wise, Pexels demonstrates a strong posture with HTTPS enforcement, comprehensive security headers, and no visible vulnerabilities, although there is room to enhance incident response transparency and vulnerability disclosure. Overall, Pexels presents a trustworthy, professional, and user-friendly service with a mature digital infrastructure.

Scanned

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

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
65/ 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

5 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
    • 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 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

      Third-party services without privacy policy

      Detected services: Google Analytics, Facebook, Twitter

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

  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 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 pexels.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.

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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
60
Security headers
55
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
65
Average
74

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 pexels.com, from OffSeq Breach.

Total records
334,149
Employees
27
Customers
334,061
Third parties
61
Weak passwords
13%

Latest record dated 2026-06-11 · 74 subdomains affected

See the 10 newest leaked credentials

A one-off add-on to this report that lists the most recent identifier and password pairs OffSeq Breach holds for pexels.com.

Select it in the checkout above.

Masked preview

  • –www.pexels.com2026-06-11
  • –www.pexels.com2026-05-22
  • –www.pexels.com2026-05-20
  • –pexels.com2026-05-13
  • –pexels.com2026-01-10

Breach keeps ingesting new leaks, so these numbers can grow between scans.

Open in Breach(opens in a new tab)Monitor on Breach(opens in a new tab)

Technical appendix

Business context, site observations and technical notes gathered during the scan, and the standards behind each reference.

Business context

Business profile

Pexels operates in the media sector, focusing on providing free, high-quality stock images and videos under a proprietary license. Its business model revolves around community contributions and free access, supported by partnerships such as PayPal for donations. The platform targets a global audience seeking creative resources without licensing fees. Pexels maintains a strong market position through extensive content, ease of use, and compliance with international privacy standards. The company leverages social media channels for brand presence and user engagement. Growth indicators include a large user base, frequent content updates, and integration of modern web technologies. Strategic partnerships and a clear focus on user experience contribute to its competitive advantage.

Security posture

The website exhibits a mature security posture with enforced HTTPS, robust security headers, and the use of reputable monitoring tools like Sentry. Cookie consent is managed via OneTrust, reflecting compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations. No exposed sensitive data or vulnerable libraries were detected in the analyzed content. However, the absence of a publicly accessible security policy or incident response page suggests an area for improvement in transparency and readiness. The lack of a vulnerability disclosure or security.txt file limits external reporting capabilities. Overall, Pexels maintains good security hygiene but could enhance its security culture and communication to users and researchers.

Recommendations

  1. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response page to improve transparency and user trust.
  2. Implement and publicize a vulnerability disclosure program or security.txt file to facilitate responsible reporting.
  3. Regularly audit and update third-party libraries to mitigate potential vulnerabilities.
  4. Enhance contact information for security-related inquiries, including dedicated security or abuse email addresses.
  5. Continue to monitor and update privacy compliance mechanisms in line with evolving regulations.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Pexels
Description
Pexels provides free stock photos and videos that can be used everywhere. It offers millions of high-quality royalty free stock images and copyright free pictures with no attribution required.
Key services
Free stock photos, Free stock videos, Content upload and sharing, Search and discovery, Download and licensing
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React, Next.js, Sentry, Google Tag Manager, Hotjar, OneTrust
Frameworks
Next.js
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
excellent
Accessibility
good
SEO
excellent

Security

Observed score
90/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Cookie consent with management
  • Use of security headers
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Use of Sentry for error monitoring

Analytics and tracking

Services
Google Analytics (via GTM), Hotjar
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Hotjar, OneTrust
Marketing tools
Hotjar, OneTrust
Transparency
good

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website provides extensive free stock photo and video content.
  2. Strong compliance with privacy and cookie regulations.
  3. Modern web technologies and frameworks used.
  4. Good security posture with HTTPS and security headers.
  5. No direct company contact emails or phone numbers found on the homepage.
  6. Cookie consent and management implemented via OneTrust.
  7. Social media presence includes Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram.
  8. Donation links present for content creators via PayPal.
  9. No visible security or WAF blocking mechanisms detected.
Technical notes

Notes

Pexels utilizes a modern technology stack centered on React and Next.js, enabling server-side rendering and optimized performance. The site employs various third-party services including Google Tag Manager for analytics, Hotjar for user behavior insights, and OneTrust for consent management. Hosting appears to be supported by a CDN, likely Cloudflare, ensuring fast content delivery globally. The website is mobile-optimized with responsive design and accessibility features. Meta tags and structured data (JSON-LD) are well implemented, supporting SEO efforts. The technical infrastructure is robust, scalable, and aligned with best practices, though continuous monitoring and updates are essential to maintain security and performance.
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 +1Medium25 findingsView report
  2. 72/100Medium27 findingsView report
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