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Security report for zhihu.com

知乎 · Technology · China

Low risk. 2 critical or high findings in GDPR outside view.

Security score

81/100

Risk levelLow

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

Zhihu is a leading Chinese knowledge-sharing platform established in 2011, offering a comprehensive Q&A community and original content creation services. It targets Chinese internet users seeking high-quality knowledge exchange across diverse fields such as technology, business, culture, and entertainment. The platform operates a community-driven content monetization model and maintains a strong market position as a key influencer in the Chinese digital knowledge economy. Technically, Zhihu employs modern web technologies including React and Sentry for error monitoring, ensuring a responsive and performant user experience. The website is well-optimized for accessibility and SEO, with fast loading times and mobile-friendly design. Security-wise, Zhihu enforces HTTPS and uses secure login mechanisms, though explicit security headers and cookie consent mechanisms could be improved. The absence of WHOIS data is a notable anomaly but does not detract significantly from the platform's legitimacy given its extensive certifications and business presence. Overall, Zhihu demonstrates a mature digital infrastructure and a robust security posture suitable for its scale and industry.

Scanned

This is an earlier scan of zhihu.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

2 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 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

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Keep watching zhihu.com

This scan found 16 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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  • 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
90
Security headers
75
Email security
85
DNS health
80
Network security
100
GDPR outside view
58
Average
81

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

Zhihu holds a dominant position in the Chinese knowledge-sharing market, leveraging a large user base of creators and consumers. Its business model centers on community engagement and content monetization, supported by institutional accounts and mobile applications. The platform benefits from multiple government licenses, enhancing regulatory compliance and trust. Partnerships with recruitment and investor relations platforms indicate a broad ecosystem supporting growth and corporate governance. Zhihu's competitive advantage lies in its high-quality content, professional community, and diversified service offerings. Growth indicators include continuous platform enhancements, social login integrations, and active user engagement features. Strategic observations suggest focusing on expanding privacy compliance and security transparency to maintain user trust amid evolving regulatory landscapes.

Security posture

Zhihu exhibits a solid security foundation with enforced HTTPS, secure authentication options including SMS and password login, and integration of Sentry for real-time error and exception monitoring. The platform provides clear channels for abuse reporting and content violation notifications, reflecting incident response readiness. However, the lack of explicit security headers such as Content-Security-Policy and cookie consent mechanisms indicates areas for improvement in defense-in-depth and privacy compliance. No vulnerabilities or exposed sensitive data were detected in the analyzed content. Compliance with Chinese regulatory requirements is evidenced by multiple official certifications. Overall, Zhihu maintains a mature security posture appropriate for a large-scale internet platform but should enhance transparency and user privacy controls.

Recommendations

  1. Implement and publicly document comprehensive security headers including CSP, X-Frame-Options, and X-Content-Type-Options to strengthen browser security.
  2. Introduce a visible cookie consent banner or mechanism to improve GDPR and global privacy compliance.
  3. Publish a dedicated security policy and vulnerability disclosure page to foster transparency and encourage responsible reporting.
  4. Enhance WHOIS domain registration transparency or provide official statements to address the current WHOIS data absence.
  5. Continue investing in user privacy education and security culture to maintain trust and regulatory alignment.
Site observations

Automated reading of the public site. Ratings are indicative.

Business

Company
知乎
Description
知乎是中文互联网高质量的问答社区和创作者聚集的原创内容平台，成立于2011年1月，致力于分享知识、经验和见解，覆盖科技、商业、影视、时尚、文化等多个领域。
Key services
问答社区, 原创内容平台, 机构号服务, 移动应用
Content quality
excellent
Branding
consistent

Technology

Stack
React 17.0.2, Sentry (error tracking), Canvas (QR code generation), JavaScript ES6+, CSS Emotion, Baidu Analytics
Frameworks
React
Platforms
Web
Performance
fast
Mobile
good
Accessibility
good
SEO
good

Security

Observed score
85/100
Good practices seen
  • HTTPS enforced
  • Use of Sentry for error monitoring
  • Secure login forms with SMS and password options

Analytics and tracking

Services
Baidu Analytics, webReporter
Tracking level
moderate
Privacy practices
good

Advertising

Tracking pixels
Baidu Analytics
Marketing tools
webReporter, Sentry
Transparency
basic

Site quality

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

Key observations

  1. Website is fully accessible with no blocking or WAF challenge detected.
  2. Content is professional, well-structured, and targeted at Chinese knowledge sharing community.
  3. Multiple government licenses and certifications are displayed, enhancing trust.
  4. No explicit privacy or cookie consent banner visible, though privacy policy is comprehensive.
  5. Login forms support SMS and password authentication with social login options.
  6. Use of modern web technologies including React and Sentry for error tracking.
  7. WHOIS data is missing or unavailable, which is unusual for a major domain.
Technical notes

Notes

Zhihu's technical infrastructure is modern and robust, leveraging React 17 for frontend rendering and Sentry for error tracking. The site uses advanced CSS-in-JS styling (Emotion) and canvas elements for dynamic QR code generation. Performance is optimized with preloading of fonts and asynchronous loading of scripts. The platform integrates multiple subdomains and APIs for content delivery, authentication, and payment services. Accessibility features such as ARIA roles and skip links are implemented, enhancing usability for assistive technologies. SEO is supported by comprehensive meta tags and Open Graph descriptions. The absence of a traditional CMS suggests a custom-built platform tailored for scalability and flexibility. Technical risks are minimal, with opportunities for improvement in security header implementation and cookie consent management.
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. 67/100Medium24 findingsView report
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