Server hosting
DigitalOcean privacy rating
US cloud provider offering virtual machines (Droplets), Kubernetes, managed databases and object storage.
Summary
DigitalOcean scores 48 out of 100 (grade D) on the server hosting criteria. It meets 5 of 12 criteria: transparency report, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, Reverse DNS and IPv6. It partly meets no ads or data sales, independent audit and anonymous payment. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, security headers and mail-friendly (port 25). 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 C.
Score 48 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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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 home page loads Amplitude (automated test).
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Partial
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
The privacy policy lets third-party advertising partners collect data on its services to show targeted ads.
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Partial
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports from an independent auditor are only available to customers after sign-in.
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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?
Publishes request counts and outcomes twice a year.
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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?
Notifies users of legal process for their account unless prohibited by law or court order.
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No
Mail-friendly (port 25) Weight 1 of 3
Is outbound port 25 open by default, or opened on request?
SMTP ports are blocked on all Droplets, with no documented way to open them.
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Yes
Reverse DNS Weight 1 of 3
Can reverse DNS (PTR) records be set for IPv4 and IPv6?
PTR records for IPv4 and the first IPv6 address are set from the Droplet name.
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Yes
IPv6 Weight 1 of 3
Is native IPv6 included?
Each Droplet can enable 16 IPv6 addresses at no extra cost.
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Partial
Anonymous payment Weight 1 of 3
Can servers be paid for with cryptocurrency or without identity checks?
Stablecoin payment is offered to some customers, and every account needs a verified payment method.
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 C (55/100+)
-
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.
Forward Email also runs infrastructure on DigitalOcean.
Some DigitalOcean IP ranges have a history of spam listings, so check an IP's reputation before sending mail from it.