Protect your data against global mass surveillance programs.
This report presents the forensic synthetic code analysis of privacyguides/privacyguides.org, a Markdown project with 4,111 GitHub stars. SynthScan v2.0 examined 44,362 lines of code across 292 source files, recording 107 pattern matches distributed across 6 syntactic categories. The overall adjusted score of 3.9 places this repository in the Likely human-written band.
The scanner applied 160+ deterministic lexical heuristics, multi-line block detectors, abstract syntax tree depth profilers, and a cross-file Jaccard similarity matrix to construct a statistically normalised synthetic code estimate. All matches are individually weighted by severity coefficient and contextual multiplier before summation, and the resulting headline score is temporally discounted to account for the repository's development history relative to the commercial emergence of large language model coding tooling (November 2022 onward).
Longitudinal tracking requires multiple scan runs. Once this repository is re-scanned after new commits land, this chart will visualise how the synthetic code signal evolves over time — enabling you to detect whether AI authorship is growing, stabilising, or being actively corrected by human engineers.
Classifies detected patterns by their diagnostic confidence and structural impact. CRITICAL patterns (coefficient 10) represent definitive synthetic signatures — hallucinated imports, explicit LLM attribution metadata — virtually never produced by human authors. HIGH (5) indicates strong structural tells such as cross-file repetition or cross-linguistic idioms. MEDIUM (2) covers recognisable conversational padding and AI-specific vocabulary. LOW (1) captures subtle indicators like tautological comments and generic boilerplate that require density to carry independent signal.
This horizontal bar chart decomposes the repository's raw synthetic code score by top-level directory, allowing you to pinpoint precisely which modules or components carry the highest AI authorship density. Directories with disproportionately high scores relative to their size warrant targeted manual review: concentrated AI signatures often trace back to mass-generated configuration layers, auto-ported test suites, LLM-scaffolded boilerplate classes, or entire subsystems authored under heavy copilot assistance. Use this view to prioritise your human code-review effort.
The scanner identified 107 distinct pattern matches across 6 syntactic categories. Each entry below represents a discrete location in the source code where the engine recorded a statistically significant AI authorship indicator. Expand any category row to inspect the individual file paths, line numbers, code snippets, and the lexical context (CODE, COMMENT, or STRING) in which each match was detected.
Reading the findings table: The Severity column indicates the diagnostic confidence level (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW). The Context column identifies whether the match occurred inside executable code, an inline comment, or a string literal — comment-context matches receive a ×1.5 weight because LLMs systematically over-annotate. The ⚡ bolt icon marks clustered matches: three or more patterns within a 10-line window, each receiving an additional ×1.5 density multiplier as dense clusters constitute far stronger evidence of synthetic authorship than isolated hits.
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 11 | This is an example of an admonition. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod nulla. Cu | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 11 | This is an example of an admonition. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod nulla. Cu | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 18 | This is an example of a collapsible admonition. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismo | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 18 | This is an example of a collapsible admonition. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismo | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 55 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 55 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 64 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 64 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 73 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 73 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 82 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 82 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 91 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 91 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 100 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 100 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 109 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 109 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 118 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 118 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 127 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 127 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 136 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 136 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 145 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 145 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 154 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 154 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 239 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 239 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 249 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 249 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 260 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 260 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 270 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW⚡ | docs/meta/admonitions.md | 270 | Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nulla et euismod | CODE |
| LOW | blog/posts/real-name-policies.md | 268 | During an earlier purge in 2009, small-business entrepreneur Alicia Istanbul [suddenly lost access](https://www.sfgate.c | CODE |
| LOW | blog/posts/easyoptouts-review.md | 79 | *Privacy Guides* performed an initial search for personal information for each of our subjects on Google by searching fo | COMMENT |
| LOW | .vscode/ltex.hiddenFalsePositives.en-US.txt | 49 | {"rule":"MORFOLOGIK_RULE_EN_US","sentence":"^\\QLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\\E$"} | CODE |
| LOW | .vscode/ltex.hiddenFalsePositives.en-US.txt | 49 | {"rule":"MORFOLOGIK_RULE_EN_US","sentence":"^\\QLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.\\E$"} | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 84 | ### Step 1: Download and Install KeePassXC | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 116 | ### Step 2: Adjust the settings | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 145 | ### Step 3: Create a database | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 208 | ### Step 4: Prepare your YubiKey(s) | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 216 | ### Step 5: Add your YubiKey | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 265 | ### Step 6: Create a password entry | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 307 | ### Step 7: Back up your database | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-keepassxc-and-yubikey.md | 338 | ### Step 8: Install the browser extension (optional) | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-and-using-tails.md | 165 | ### Step 1: Download Tails | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-and-using-tails.md | 189 | ### Step 2: Verify the file you just downloaded | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-and-using-tails.md | 206 | ### Step 3: Download and install balenaEtcher | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-and-using-tails.md | 227 | ### Step 4: Install Tails on your USB stick using balenaEtcher | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-and-using-tails.md | 298 | ### Step 5: Continue this tutorial from paper or from another device (if you can do so safely) | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/installing-and-using-tails.md | 306 | ### Step 6: Boot your computer from your Tails USB stick | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 78 | ### Step 1: Remove your keys from all accounts | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 93 | ### Step 2: Download and install the Yubico Authenticator | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 101 | ### Step 3: Open the Yubico Authenticator and plug in your keys | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 127 | ### Step 4: Delete your YubiKey's One-Time Password (OTP) application | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 151 | ### Step 5: Reset your YubiKey's FIDO2, OATH, and PIV applications | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 200 | ### Step 6: Reset your YubiKey's OpenPGP and YubiHSM Auth applications | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 364 | ### Step 7: Secure your keys | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 395 | ### Step 8: Create and register each key's OTP | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 510 | ### Step 9: Create and clone your key's Challenge-response | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 572 | ### Step 10: Register and copy your key's OATH-TOTPs, Passkeys, Static passwords, and OATH-HOTPs | COMMENT |
| LOW | blog/posts/yubikey-reset-and-backup.md | 684 | ### Step 11: Generate and copy an OpenPGP key and subkeys to your YubiKeys | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/page.yml | 98 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/page.yml | 100 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/pride.yml | 76 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/pride.yml | 78 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/blog.yml | 125 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/blog.yml | 127 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/video.yml | 60 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/video.yml | 62 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/home.yml | 59 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/home.yml | 61 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/toolbox.yml | 94 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | theme/layouts/toolbox.yml | 96 | # ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HIGH | …cs/activism/toolbox/tip-beware-of-privacy-snake-oil.md | 51 | - [**Biased reviews**](https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/09/03/red-and-green-privacy-flags/#fake-reviews): Is | CODE |
| HIGH | …cs/activism/toolbox/tip-beware-of-privacy-snake-oil.md | 51 | - [**Biased reviews**](https://www.privacyguides.org/articles/2025/09/03/red-and-green-privacy-flags/#fake-reviews): Is | CODE |
| HIGH | blog/posts/red-and-green-privacy-flags.md | 164 | Fake reviews are a growing problem on the internet. And this was only aggravated by the arrival of generative AI. There | CODE |
| HIGH | blog/posts/red-and-green-privacy-flags.md | 175 | ### :triangular_flag_on_post: Fake AI-generated content | COMMENT |
| HIGH | blog/posts/digital-provenance.md | 89 | [Several](https://youtu.be/E4I6K8OEyho?si=wbWAUcLsjOA7yDnO) [history](https://youtu.be/cqrHmjGD1ds?si=k60RTO9MH177ASTS) | CODE |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | mkdocs.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2022-2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | crowdin.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2023 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | mkdocs.blog.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2022-2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .markdownlint.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2022 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | theme/layouts/toolbox.yml | 141 | style: *title_font_style | COMMENT |
| LOW | theme/assets/stylesheets/extra.css | 1 | /* | COMMENT |
| LOW | theme/assets/stylesheets/home.css | 1 | /* | COMMENT |
| LOW | theme/assets/stylesheets/lang-he.css | 1 | /* | COMMENT |
| LOW | theme/assets/stylesheets/lang-zh-Hant.css | 1 | /* | COMMENT |
| LOW | theme/assets/stylesheets/lang-zh-TW.css | 1 | /* | COMMENT |
| LOW | theme/assets/stylesheets/lang-ru.css | 1 | /* | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/upload-crowdin.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2022-2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/test-lint.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/test-build.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/publish-release.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2021-2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/update-discussions.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/publish-mirror.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2022 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/publish-immediate.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2021-2025 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/2_Website_Issues.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2023 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/1_Content_Correction.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2023 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/config.yml | 1 | # Copyright (c) 2020-2023 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .vscode/settings.json | 1 | // Copyright (c) 2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| LOW | .vscode/extensions.json | 1 | // Copyright (c) 2024 Jonah Aragon <jonah@triplebit.net> | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | tools/delete-unreferenced.sh | 13 | # Check if assets directory exists | COMMENT |
| LOW | tools/generate-topics.sh | 5 | # Check if the script is running on macOS | COMMENT |