Polaris Audit — Shared Scan Result
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
Sun, 26 Apr 2026 14:24:16 UTC · #149701145e4b6905
Critical Failure
This site is sending visitor data to third parties before anyone clicks Accept or Decline — including googletagservices.com, googletagmanager.com, doubleclick.net.
Issues Found
Visitor data sent to 42 ad networks without permission
googletagservices.com, googletagmanager.com, doubleclick.net are loading the moment someone visits your site — before they click Accept or Decline.
Analytics recording visitors before they agree
Your analytics tool is tracking visitor behaviour before anyone has had the chance to consent.
30 tracking files stored on visitors' devices without consent
Your site is writing tracking cookies to visitors' browsers before they make any choice.
Your business is exposed to GDPR fines
Regulators can fine up to €20M or 4% of annual turnover for violations like these.
Your site ignores "Decline All" — 16 trackers still fired
Even after a visitor clicked Decline, tracking requests were still sent.
No consent banner found
Your site is collecting visitor data before consent, and we couldn't detect a Consent Management Platform.
92 network signals captured
Full trace included in the $9 report
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