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Security report for pixelfed.ca

Fedecan non-profit organization · Technology · Canada

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

Security score

65/100

Risk levelMedium

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

Pixelfed.ca is a Canadian-hosted, non-profit managed instance of the Pixelfed federated image sharing platform. It offers an ethical alternative to centralized social media platforms by enabling decentralized photo sharing with features such as photo posts, albums, filters, collections, and federation support. The platform targets a general audience and is managed by the Fedecan non-profit organization, emphasizing privacy and community standards. Technically, the website uses modern web technologies including JavaScript frameworks (Vue.js implied), Plyr media player, and Cloudflare DNS services. The site is well-structured with good mobile optimization and SEO practices, though some security headers and DNSSEC are not enabled. The platform supports federation and mobile app integration but does not currently support stories or video content. From a security perspective, the site enforces HTTPS and has no visible vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data. However, it lacks explicit security policies, incident response contacts, and vulnerability disclosure mechanisms. Privacy compliance is basic with privacy and terms pages present but no cookie consent mechanism. The domain registration is privacy protected but consistent with the business claims and is registered with a reputable Canadian registrar. Overall, Pixelfed.ca presents a trustworthy, well-maintained platform with a clear ethical stance and community guidelines. Strategic improvements in security headers, privacy compliance, and incident response transparency would enhance its security posture and user trust.

Scanned

NIS2 and GDPR posture

GDPR outside view
53/ 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 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 pixelfed.ca

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

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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
40
Email security
70
DNS health
50
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
53
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

Pixelfed.ca operates in the technology sector as a non-profit organization providing a federated image sharing service. Its market position is as an ethical alternative to centralized social media platforms, appealing to users valuing privacy and decentralization. The business model is community and non-profit driven, focusing on user empowerment and ethical content sharing. Key services include photo sharing, albums, filters, and federation capabilities. The platform targets a broad audience without geographic restrictions despite Canadian hosting. Growth indicators include a moderate user base and active community engagement. Partnerships are primarily with the Pixelfed project and related open-source communities. The platform's non-profit status and transparent rules contribute to its credibility and trustworthiness.

Security posture

The security maturity of Pixelfed.ca is moderate. The platform enforces HTTPS and uses Cloudflare DNS, which provides some protection against DNS attacks. However, DNSSEC is not enabled, and common security headers such as Content Security Policy (CSP), HSTS, and X-Frame-Options are not detected, which could improve protection against common web attacks. No incident response or security policy pages are present, and no vulnerability disclosure or security.txt files are found, indicating limited formal security governance. The platform's rules prohibit harmful content and promote ethical use, which supports community safety. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the HTML content. Overall, the site is secure for general use but could benefit from enhanced security controls and transparency.

Recommendations

  1. Enable DNSSEC to improve domain name system security.
  2. Implement standard security headers such as CSP, HSTS, and X-Frame-Options to mitigate common web vulnerabilities.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and incident response contact information to improve transparency and readiness.
  4. Add a vulnerability disclosure policy or security.txt file to encourage responsible reporting of security issues.
  5. Implement a cookie consent mechanism to enhance privacy compliance and user trust.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
Fedecan non-profit organization
Description
Pixelfed.ca is run by Canadians and hosted in Canada. However, it is not restricted to Canadians and all are welcome! This platform is an instance of Pixelfed. It is an image sharing platform, and an ethical alternative to centralized platforms. We are managed by the Fedecan non-profit organization.
Key services
Image sharing, Photo posts, Photo albums, Photo filters, Collections, Comments, Hashtags, Likes, Notifications, Shares
Content quality
good
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
Pixelfed platform, Cloudflare DNS, JavaScript, Vue.js (implied by VueCarousel styles), Plyr media player
Frameworks
Pixelfed
Platforms
Web
Performance
moderate
Mobile
good
Accessibility
basic
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
75/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enabled
  • No exposed sensitive data in HTML
  • Content security via server rules

Analytics and tracking

Tracking level
minimal
Privacy practices
basic

Advertising

Transparency
poor

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is a Canadian-hosted instance of Pixelfed, a federated image sharing platform.
  2. Managed by a non-profit organization named Fedecan.
  3. Clear and detailed server rules promoting ethical use and prohibiting hate speech and explicit content.
  4. No WAF or blocking detected; site is fully accessible.
  5. No privacy or cookie policy banner detected, but privacy and terms pages exist.
  6. No phone numbers or physical addresses found.
  7. Contact is via a support email at the domain.
  8. No security.txt or vulnerability disclosure found.
  9. No advertising or tracking scripts detected.
  10. Good technical implementation with modern JS and federation support.
Technical notes

Notes

Pixelfed.ca is built on the Pixelfed platform, leveraging modern JavaScript frameworks (Vue.js inferred) and media player libraries (Plyr). The site uses Cloudflare for DNS management but does not enable DNSSEC. The website is mobile optimized with responsive design and good SEO metadata. Performance is moderate with no major blocking scripts detected. The site lacks a traditional CMS and appears to be a custom or platform-specific implementation. Technical debt is low, but opportunities exist to improve security headers and privacy compliance. The platform supports federation and mobile APIs but currently lacks video and stories features. Overall, the technical infrastructure is solid for a small non-profit platform but could benefit from modernization in security and privacy features.
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

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