# BeaverCheck Audit Report — https://kotaku.com **Date:** April 21, 2026 **URL:** https://kotaku.com **Overall Grade:** B (80/100) **Report:** https://beavercheck.com/results/8a369ee0-48d7-4a13-9fcc-7c5ec2d97560 ## Top Findings 1. **[CRITICAL]** Page weighs 13.7 MB (6.1 MB transferred) — Performance > Page Weight Budget 2. **[CRITICAL]** 13 image-only link(s) without alt text — Accessibility > Link & Button Quality 3. **[CRITICAL]** 5 link(s) with no accessible text — Accessibility > Link & Button Quality 4. **[WARNING]** 102 HTTP requests — consider bundling or reducing — Performance > Page Weight Budget 5. **[WARNING]** 74 third-party resources (94% of weight) — Performance > Page Weight Inventory --- ## Lighthouse Scores | Category | Score | |----------|-------| | Performance | 30 | | Accessibility | 93 | | Best Practices | 96 | | SEO | 92 | --- ## Security ### Security Headers (B — 75/100) *7 of 10 headers properly configured* - **[WARNING]** HSTS max-age is too short (15552000s, should be ≥ 31536000s) — A short max-age leaves a window for downgrade attacks. Set max-age to at least 31536000 (1 year). - **[PASS]** X-Content-Type-Options is properly configured - **[PASS]** X-Frame-Options is properly configured - **[PASS]** Referrer-Policy is properly configured - **[PASS]** Permissions-Policy is set - **[PASS]** Content-Security-Policy is present - **[WARNING]** Cross-Origin-Opener-Policy header is missing — COOP isolates your browsing context, preventing cross-origin side-channel attacks. Set to 'same-origin'. - **[WARNING]** Cross-Origin-Embedder-Policy header is missing — COEP prevents loading cross-origin resources without explicit permission. Required for SharedArrayBuffer and high-resolution timers. - **[PASS]** X-Powered-By header is not present - **[PASS]** Server header is present without version info ### Content Security Policy (B — 75/100) *3 of 10 CSP checks passed* - **[INFO]** Raw CSP policy - **[WARNING]** default-src directive is missing — default-src provides a fallback for other directives. Set it to restrict default resource loading. - **[INFO]** No script-src or default-src to check for 'unsafe-inline' - **[INFO]** No script-src or default-src to check for 'unsafe-eval' - **[INFO]** No script-src or default-src to check for wildcard - **[PASS]** object-src falls back to default-src - **[WARNING]** base-uri directive is missing — Without base-uri, attackers can inject a tag to hijack relative URLs. Set it to 'self' or 'none'. - **[PASS]** frame-ancestors directive is set - **[WARNING]** form-action directive is missing — form-action restricts where forms can submit data, preventing form hijacking. - **[PASS]** upgrade-insecure-requests is enabled ### TLS & Certificates (A+ — 100/100) *TLS 1.3, 7 checks passed* - **[PASS]** TLS 1.3 is used - **[PASS]** Strong cipher suite is used - **[INFO]** HTTP/2 is not negotiated — HTTP/2 provides multiplexing and header compression for better performance. - **[PASS]** Certificate is valid (expires in 45 days) - **[PASS]** Certificate chain has 3 certificates - **[PASS]** Certificate uses modern signature algorithm - **[PASS]** Certificate covers 2 domain(s) - **[PASS]** Certificate is issued by a trusted CA ### Cookie Security (A+ — 100/100) *No cookies set — no cookie security risks* - **[PASS]** No cookies set — no cookie security risks --- ## Advanced Security ### Subresource Integrity (D — 40/100) *1 of 17 external resources have SRI* - **[WARNING]** External link from cdnjs.cloudflare.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.googletagmanager.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from securepubads.g.doubleclick.net lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from www.googletagmanager.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from sdk.mrf.io lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from sdk.mrf.io lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cache.consentframework.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cdn.sirdata.eu lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cache.consentframework.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from scripts.opti-digital.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from securepubads.g.doubleclick.net lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from marfeelexperimentsexperienceengine.mrf.io lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from marfeelexperimentsexperienceengine.mrf.io lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cds.connatix.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External link from cds.connatix.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[WARNING]** External script from cds.connatix.com lacks integrity attribute — Without SRI, if this CDN is compromised, attackers could inject malicious code. - **[PASS]** script from static.cloudflareinsights.com has SRI protection ### JS Library Vulnerabilities (A+ — 100/100) *No known vulnerabilities* - **[PASS]** No known JavaScript library vulnerabilities detected ### Information Leakage (A+ — 100/100) *No exposures* - **[INFO]** No security.txt found — Consider adding a security.txt at /.well-known/security.txt. - **[PASS]** No sensitive files exposed ### Email Security (A+ — 100/100) *DMARC: reject* - **[PASS]** DMARC policy is reject — strongest protection ### Permissions-Policy (C — 60/100) *4 directives, 4 missing* - **[INFO]** autoplay=(*) - **[INFO]** fullscreen=(*) - **[INFO]** accelerometer=(*) - **[INFO]** geolocation=(*) - **[INFO]** camera not restricted — Consider adding camera=() to block camera access from embedded content. - **[INFO]** microphone not restricted — Consider adding microphone=() to block microphone access from embedded content. - **[INFO]** payment not restricted — Consider adding payment=() to block payment access from embedded content. - **[INFO]** usb not restricted — Consider adding usb=() to block usb access from embedded content. ### CORS Configuration (B — 80/100) *No CORS headers* - **[PASS]** No CORS headers present — secure default --- ## Performance ### Page Weight Budget (F — 0/100) *6.1 MB transferred, 102 requests* - **[CRITICAL]** Page weighs 13.7 MB (6.1 MB transferred) - **[WARNING]** JavaScript is 1.8 MB — consider code splitting or lazy loading — Large JavaScript bundles delay interactivity. Split code by route or defer non-critical scripts. - **[INFO]** Fonts are 250 KB — consider subsetting or using system fonts — Subset fonts to include only used characters, or switch to system font stacks. - **[WARNING]** 102 HTTP requests — consider bundling or reducing — Each request adds latency. Bundle small files, use sprites, or eliminate unnecessary requests. - **[INFO]** Estimated 1.3 g CO2 per page load ### Third-Party Impact (D — 50/100) *94% third-party, 0 ms blocking* - **[WARNING]** Third-party code accounts for 94% of page weight (5.7 MiB of 6.1 MiB) - **[PASS]** Third-party blocking time is low (0 ms) ### Text Compression (A+ — 100/100) *All text resources are compressed* - **[PASS]** All text resources are compressed ### Image Optimization (B — 80/100) *12 images, 0 KB saveable* - **[PASS]** All images are well-optimized ### JS Execution Cost (F — 20/100) *6073ms total JS execution* - **[WARNING]** Unattributable: 780ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** https://cache.consentframework.com/js/pa/41707/c/K...: 662ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** https://cds.connatix.com/p/320810193/connatix.play...: 629ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** https://kotaku.com/: 536ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** https://cds.connatix.com/p/320810193/player.lit.ui...: 519ms CPU time - **[WARNING]** Third-party scripts: 5462ms (90% of total) ### Font Loading (A+ — 100/100) *4 fonts (250 KB)* - **[INFO]** 4 font(s) use font-display: swap (FOUT risk but functional) ### JS Bundles (F — 20/100) *42 scripts, 749 KB unused* - **[WARNING]** https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/mana...: 143 KB unused (76%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js: 80 KB unused (55%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://scripts.opti-digital.com/lib/?site=kotaku_...: 74 KB unused (75%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://cdn.confiant-integrations.net/video/202603...: 70 KB unused (56%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[WARNING]** https://cds.connatix.com/p/320810193/player.ads.js: 66 KB unused (69%) — Consider code splitting or tree shaking to reduce unused code. - **[INFO]** Total unused JavaScript: 749 KB ### Resource Caching (A+ — 100/100) *All resources properly cached* - **[PASS]** No caching issues found ### Critical Rendering Path (A+ — 100/100) *No render-blocking resources* - **[PASS]** No render-blocking resources detected ### Resource Hints (A+ — 100/100) *5 hints, 0 missing preconnects* - **[PASS]** Page uses 5 resource hint(s) ### Page Weight Inventory (F — 30/100) *102 resources · 6.1 MB · 749 KB savings available* - **[WARNING]** Page weight 5.1 MB over 1MB target - **[INFO]** ~749 KB of savings available - **[WARNING]** 74 third-party resources (94% of weight) - **[INFO]** 4 resources over 200KB ### Render-Blocking Resources (A+ — 100/100) *No render-blocking resources detected* - **[PASS]** No render-blocking resources detected in ### Third-Party Resources (A+ — 100/100) *No third-party resources detected* --- ## Content Quality ### Links (C — 70/100) *176 links checked, 170 healthy, 6 broken* - **[CRITICAL]** 170 of 176 links are healthy - **[WARNING]** Broken link: https://api.consentframework.com — Found in . Returns HTTP 404. - **[WARNING]** Broken link: https://cache.consentframework.com — Found in . Returns HTTP 404. - **[WARNING]** Broken link: https://scripts.opti-digital.com — Found in . Returns HTTP 404. - **[CRITICAL]** Broken link: https://de.kotaku.com/ — Found in . Returns HTTP 503. - **[CRITICAL]** Broken link: https://fr.kotaku.com/ — Found in . Returns HTTP 503. - **[CRITICAL]** Broken link: https://kotaku.com/manage-utiq — Found in . Returns HTTP 404. ### Mixed Content (A+ — 100/100) *No mixed content detected — all resources use HTTPS.* - **[PASS]** No mixed content detected — all resources use HTTPS ### Open Graph (B — 85/100) *Open Graph tags are partially configured — some improvements recommended.* - **[WARNING]** Missing og:description — The og:description tag controls the description in social sharing previews. ### Structured Data (C — 70/100) *1 JSON-LD block(s) found — some improvements recommended.* - **[WARNING]** Missing required property "headline" for Article — The "headline" property is required for the Article schema type. - **[WARNING]** Missing required property "author" for Article — The "author" property is required for the Article schema type. - **[WARNING]** Missing required property "datePublished" for Article — The "datePublished" property is required for the Article schema type. - **[INFO]** Missing recommended property "image" for Article — Adding "image" can improve how search engines display your content. - **[INFO]** Missing recommended property "publisher" for Article — Adding "publisher" can improve how search engines display your content. - **[INFO]** Missing recommended property "dateModified" for Article — Adding "dateModified" can improve how search engines display your content. --- ## Infrastructure ### DNS Records (A+ — 100/100) *3 A records, 31 ms lookup* - **[PASS]** Resolves to 3 IPv4 address(es) - **[PASS]** Has 3 IPv6 (AAAA) record(s) - **[PASS]** 2 nameserver(s) configured - **[PASS]** 5 mail exchanger(s) configured - **[INFO]** CAA records not checked — CAA record lookup requires a specialized DNS resolver. This check will be available in a future update. - **[PASS]** SPF record present in TXT - **[PASS]** DNS resolution time: 31 ms ### Redirect Chain (A+ — 100/100) *No redirects — direct access* - **[PASS]** No redirects — direct access ### IPv6 Readiness (A+ — 100/100) *IPv6 reachable (17 ms)* - **[PASS]** IPv6 is configured and reachable at 2606:4700:20::681a:789, 2606:4700:20::681a:689, 2606:4700:20::ac43:449e ### Crawlability (A+ — 100/100) *robots.txt present, sitemap with 581 URLs* - **[PASS]** robots.txt is present - **[PASS]** sitemap.xml is present - **[PASS]** sitemap.xml is valid XML - **[PASS]** sitemap.xml contains 581 entries - **[PASS]** Sitemap index with 581 child sitemaps - **[PASS]** robots.txt references sitemap ### URL Variants (A+ — 100/100) *www/non-www, trailing slash, HTTP→HTTPS* - **[PASS]** www/non-www redirect configured correctly (preferred: non-www) - **[PASS]** HTTP correctly 301-redirects to HTTPS ### Domain Intelligence (A+ — 100/100) *kotaku.com — via Gandi SAS, 24 years, 5 months old* - **[PASS]** Domain registered until Mar 5, 2027 (10 months remaining) - **[PASS]** DNSSEC is enabled - **[PASS]** Registrar: Gandi SAS - **[WARNING]** Registrar lock is NOT enabled — The domain can be transferred without an unlock step. Enable registrar lock (clientTransferProhibited) in your registrar's control panel to protect against unauthorized or accidental transfers. --- ## Compliance ### WCAG Compliance (A+ — 100/100) *No testable criteria* ### Cookie Consent & Privacy (B — 80/100) *No consent signals detected* - **[WARNING]** No privacy policy link detected — A privacy policy page is recommended for transparency and may be legally required. - **[INFO]** No terms of service link detected - **[INFO]** No cookie consent banner detected - **[INFO]** This is an automated check, not legal advice — BeaverCheck detects technical indicators of consent management. This does not constitute a legal compliance assessment. Consult a privacy professional for GDPR/CCPA compliance. ### Language & i18n (A — 90/100) *Lang attribute present* - **[PASS]** attribute is present - **[PASS]** value is valid - **[INFO]** No Content-Language HTTP header - **[INFO]** Language signals are inconsistent — The attribute and Content-Language header should agree. ### Readability & Typography (A+ — 100/100) *Font sizes and tap targets checked* ### Viewport Configuration (A+ — 100/100) *Viewport properly configured* - **[PASS]** Viewport meta tag is present - **[PASS]** width=device-width is set - **[PASS]** User zooming is allowed ### Third-Party Trackers (D — 40/100) *9 trackers detected* - **[INFO]** 9 third-party trackers detected — Found 3 analytics, 3 advertising, 2 marketing, 1 tag manager trackers. - **[WARNING]** 3 advertising/retargeting trackers detected — Advertising trackers collect user data for ad targeting. Under GDPR, these typically require explicit consent. - **[WARNING]** Trackers detected but no cookie policy found — This page loads 9 trackers but no cookie policy was detected. GDPR requires disclosure when using tracking cookies. - **[WARNING]** Trackers detected but no privacy policy found — Most data protection regulations require a privacy policy when collecting user data via trackers. ### Cookie & Tracker Inventory (A+ — 100/100) *0 cookies · 9 trackers · 0 pre-consent* - **[INFO]** 9 third-party tracker(s) detected on page --- ## Legal ### Legal Page Ecosystem (C — 65/100) *3 of 7 expected legal pages detected* - **[PASS]** Privacy Policy detected — Found at https://kotaku.com/privacy-policy. - **[PASS]** Terms of Service detected — Found at https://kotaku.com/terms-of-use. - **[INFO]** Cookie Policy not detected — No link matching common Cookie Policy URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a Cookie Policy, especially those collecting user data. - **[PASS]** Accessibility Statement detected — Found at https://kotaku.com/accessibility. - **[INFO]** DMCA / Copyright Notice not detected — No link matching common DMCA / Copyright Notice URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a DMCA / Copyright Notice, especially those collecting user data. - **[INFO]** Refund / Returns Policy not detected — No link matching common Refund / Returns Policy URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a Refund / Returns Policy, especially those collecting user data. - **[INFO]** Acceptable Use Policy not detected — No link matching common Acceptable Use Policy URL patterns or link text was found. Most websites are expected to have a Acceptable Use Policy, especially those collecting user data. ### Copyright Notice (A+ — 100/100) *©2026 KOTAKU USA LLC* - **[PASS]** Copyright notice is up to date — Copyright notice is up to date: ©2026 KOTAKU USA LLC - **[PASS]** Copyright holder: KOTAKU USA LLC ### Regulatory Indicators *2 regulatory indicator(s) detected* - **[INFO]** This is a technical scan, not a legal assessment — BeaverCheck detects technical indicators that may suggest regulatory relevance. This is not a compliance audit and should not be relied upon for legal decisions. Consult qualified legal counsel for compliance assessments. - **[INFO]** GDPR indicators detected (moderate confidence) — Indicators suggesting GDPR may be relevant: Privacy policy page found. EU General Data Protection Regulation — governs collection and processing of personal data of EU residents. - **[INFO]** ADA indicators detected (moderate confidence) — Indicators suggesting ADA may be relevant: Accessibility statement page found. Americans with Disabilities Act / Section 508 — requires digital accessibility for people with disabilities. ### Third-Party Data Sharing *2 third-party service(s) detected* - **[INFO]** Data inventory for transparency purposes — This inventory identifies third-party services that receive data from your site visitors. Under regulations like GDPR (Article 30), maintaining records of data processing activities is commonly considered a best practice. This automated scan provides a starting point — it may not capture all data flows. - **[INFO]** 2 third-party services across 2 categories — 2 third-party services detected across 2 categories: Analytics (1), Tag Management (1). Each of these services receives some user data from your site visitors. - **[INFO]** Google Analytics (Analytics) — Detected via script URL. Typically collects: Page views, User behavior, Demographics, Device info, IP address. Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy. Data Processing Agreement available. - **[INFO]** Google Tag Manager (Tag Management) — Detected via script URL. Typically collects: Orchestrates other tracking scripts, Page views. Privacy policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy. Data Processing Agreement available. ### Compliance Badges (C — 55/100) *0 compliance badge(s) detected* - **[INFO]** No compliance badges detected — No recognized compliance certification badges or seals were found. This is common — many sites do not display compliance badges. --- ## Availability ### CDN & Delivery (A — 85/100) *Cloudflare (DYNAMIC)* - **[PASS]** Site is served via Cloudflare CDN (edge: CDG) - **[INFO]** CDN cache status: DYNAMIC ### HTTP Caching (D — 45/100) *no-store (uncacheable)* - **[INFO]** Cache-Control: no-store prevents all caching — Intentional for dynamic content, but increases server load for every page view. - **[PASS]** Last-Modified header present ### Transport Security (A — 85/100) *HTTP/3, HSTS, and TLS version analysis* - **[PASS]** HTTP/3 (QUIC) supported — The server advertises HTTP/3 via Alt-Svc for faster connections on mobile networks. - **[WARNING]** HSTS max-age is short: 180 days — HSTS max-age should be at least 1 year (31536000 seconds). - **[PASS]** HSTS preload enabled - **[PASS]** TLS 1.3 in use (fastest handshake, 1-RTT) --- ## Accessibility ### Landmark Structure (A+ — 95/100) *4 landmarks* - **[PASS]**
landmark present - **[PASS]** 1