Blogging
WordPress.com privacy rating
Hosted website and blogging platform run by Automattic, built on the open source WordPress software, with web, Android and iOS apps.
Summary
WordPress.com scores 41 out of 100 (grade D) on the blogging criteria. It meets 3 of 8 criteria: transparency report, tells users about requests and TLS configuration. It partly meets open source. It does not meet no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit and security headers. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade D-.
Score 41 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
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Partial
Open source Weight 3 of 3
Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
The Calypso web interface and mobile apps are GPL-2.0, but the WordPress.com hosting platform is closed source.
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No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
The website loads Google Analytics, Hotjar and the Facebook pixel, and the privacy policy describes sharing data with advertising and analytics vendors.
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No
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Free sites show ads from advertising partners, and public site content is shared with third parties, including for AI training, unless the owner opts out.
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No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit is published.
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Yes
Transparency report Weight 2 of 3
Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
Automattic publishes twice-yearly reports with counts of information requests and disclosures.
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Yes
Tells users about requests Weight 1 of 3
Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it?
Policy is to notify users and give them a copy of legal requests unless prohibited by law or court order.
Automated tests
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Yes
TLS configuration Weight 2 of 3
Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better?
Grade A+
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No
Security headers Weight 1 of 3
Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
Grade D- (25/100+)
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Not tested yet
Modern web standards Weight 1 of 3
Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test?
Not tested yet.