How to deactivate Gravatar in Wordpress?

Gravatar is an into the WordPress blogging platform integrated service for providing globally unique avatars. I consider it to be a service that provides a security risk for my webpage. My position is underlined by the research of security researcher Carlo Di Dato (mass data collection of profiles by web crawlers and bots) and the fact that according to HaveIBeenPwned in December 2021 the profile information of 114 million Gravatar users had been leaked.

Why you should disable Gravatar?

If you do not absolutely need Gravatar, it is better to deactivate it.

Data protection (GDPR)

With Gravatar enabled on your website, a request is sent to the Gravatar server with every website visit. Even if your website visitor does not have a Gravatar account and does not use it or has never commented. However, the problem is that this server is not located in the EU, but in the USA. In other words, the visitor’s IP is sent to this server every time. This processing of personal data must be based on a legitimate legal basis and be mentioned in the privacy policy. Otherwise, high penalties may be imposed. You can eliminate legal risks by disabling Gravatar.

Security and website performance

The integration of third-party resources always poses a security risk to your website. Using Gravatar results in (one or more) requests to their server. Every request the browser has to make to a server slows down the loading speed of a website and provides a target for cyberattacks. Thus, disabling Gravatar will have a positive effect on your loading speed and site performance.