Category Deep Diven = 104 domains

News & Media Privacy Report

The privacy cost of staying informed

Published May 18, 2026Gecko Advisor Research

Key Findings

  1. 1We analyzed 104 News & Media domains. The average privacy score is 59/100 (median: 54/100).
  2. 2News & Media domains score 21.8 points below the global average of 80.8/100.
  3. 3The average News & Media website loads 10.7 trackers and 10.4 cookies.
  4. 464% of News & Media domains use fingerprinting — 38 percentage points above the global rate of 26%.

Report Statistics

Avg Privacy Score

59.0

↓ Global avg: 80.8

Median Score

54

Avg Trackers

10.7

↑ Global avg: 1.4

Avg Cookies

10.4

Fingerprinting Rate

64.0%

↑ Global avg: 26.0%

Grade Distribution

A
17 (16.3%)
B
16 (15.4%)
C
13 (12.5%)
D
4 (3.8%)
F
54 (51.9%)

Domain Rankings

Best Privacy Scores

#DomainScoreTrackers
1mexiconewsdaily.com100Low Privacy Risk100
2businessinsider.de100Low Privacy Risk100
3buzzfeed.io98Low Privacy Risk98
4pressandjournal.co.uk97Low Privacy Risk97
5dailynews.co.th97Low Privacy Risk97
6mitpressjournals.org97Low Privacy Risk97
7economist.co.uk95Low Privacy Risk95
8economist.com95Low Privacy Risk95
9duluthnewstribune.com93Low Privacy Risk93
10businessnewsdaily.com92Low Privacy Risk92

Worst Privacy Scores

#DomainScoreTrackers
1forbes.com.mx15Critical Privacy Risk15
2msnbc.com24Critical Privacy Risk24
3wired.co.uk25Critical Privacy Risk25
4forbes.es25Critical Privacy Risk25
5forbes.kz28Critical Privacy Risk28
6independent.ie28Critical Privacy Risk28
7zdnet.fr28Critical Privacy Risk28
8latimes.com29Critical Privacy Risk29
9pressherald.com30Critical Privacy Risk30
10forbes.hu30Critical Privacy Risk30

Most Trackers

#DomainScoreTrackers
1techcrunch.com43High Privacy Risk55
2dailynews.com34Critical Privacy Risk51
3news-herald.com35Critical Privacy Risk49
4pressherald.com30Critical Privacy Risk41
5gizmodo.jp33Critical Privacy Risk41
6bangordailynews.com36Critical Privacy Risk41
7nbcnews.com36Critical Privacy Risk38
8forbes.com.mx15Critical Privacy Risk33
9foxnews.com39Critical Privacy Risk33
10apnews.com37Critical Privacy Risk32

Most Prevalent Trackers

Tracker matched: doubleclick.net
48.0%(50)
Tracker matched: googletagmanager.com
44.0%(46)
Tracker matched: googlesyndication.com
35.0%(36)
Tracker matched: gstatic.com
34.0%(35)
Tracker matched: google.com
32.0%(33)
Tracker matched: google-analytics.com
30.0%(31)
Tracker matched: amazon-adsystem.com
25.0%(26)
Tracker matched: scorecardresearch.com
16.0%(17)
Tracker matched: rubiconproject.com
14.0%(15)
Tracker matched: onetrust.com
14.0%(15)

Methodology

This report is based on automated privacy scans of 104 domains using Gecko Advisor's scanning infrastructure. Each domain is evaluated for third-party trackers, cookies, fingerprinting scripts, security headers, and TLS configuration.

Scores are deterministic and evidence-based: every deduction maps to a specific, verifiable finding. Only domains with at least 2 completed scans are included to ensure data reliability. Results reflect the most recent scan available at the time of publication.

Read full methodology

How to Cite This Report

Gecko Advisor. "News & Media Privacy Report." geckoadvisor.com/research/news-media-privacy-report, May 2026.

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