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58 Content Filtering Categories

Complete taxonomy of every content category used to classify 100 million domains, organized into seven major groups for granular web filtering policies

Browse Categories via API

A Comprehensive Category Taxonomy

Our 59 content categories provide the granularity needed to build precise web filtering policies. Rather than lumping all websites into a handful of broad buckets, our taxonomy distinguishes between closely related but policy-distinct categories. For example, "Dating" and "Adult Content" are separate categories because many organizations block adult content while permitting dating sites, and vice versa.

Categories are organized into seven top-level groups: Security, Adult, Lifestyle, Productivity, Business, Communication, and Content/Infrastructure. Each domain can belong to multiple categories simultaneously, with independent classification details for each. A news website that also serves as a social media platform might carry both "News/Media" and "Social Networking" labels.

The taxonomy is updated quarterly to reflect evolving web content patterns. New categories are introduced when an emerging content type reaches sufficient prevalence to warrant distinct policy treatment, such as the addition of "Cryptocurrency" and "AI/Machine Learning" in recent updates. Classification metadata is also valuable for evaluating technology stack age as a business maturity signal when analyzing categorized domains. The categorization API provides programmatic access to the full taxonomy, and bulk domain categorization applies it to entire domain lists at once.

58
Content Categories
7
Major Groups
100M
Classified Domains
97.3%
Classification Accuracy

All 59 Categories by Group

Detailed descriptions of every content category in our taxonomy

web-based risks

8 categories
1
unsafe content

Domains hosting or distributing malicious software including trojans, ransomware, spyware, and worms. Includes exploit kit landing pages and drive-by download sites.

2
restricted content

Sites impersonating legitimate brands or services to steal credentials, personal information, or financial data. Detected through visual similarity analysis and URL pattern matching.

3
Spam

Domains used in bulk unsolicited messaging campaigns, including email spam landing pages, comment spam sources, and SEO spam farm domains.

4
Botnets & C2

Command and control servers, botnet infrastructure, and domains used for coordinating compromised device networks. Identified through DNS traffic pattern analysis and classification feed correlation.

5
Cryptomining

Domains hosting browser-based cryptocurrency mining scripts that consume visitor CPU resources without consent, including cryptojacking scripts embedded on compromised sites.

6
Scam & Fraud

Fraudulent websites including advance-fee scams, fake tech support, investment fraud, counterfeit goods, and deceptive prize or lottery schemes.

7
Newly Registered Domains

Domains registered within the last 30 days. While not inherently malicious, newly registered domains are disproportionately used for content risks, making this a valuable policy signal. Research into domain age and business owner age correlation shows how registration timelines can reveal broader organizational patterns.

8
Dynamic DNS

Domains using dynamic DNS services that allow rapidly changing IP resolution. Frequently abused for unsafe content delivery and restricted content because they bypass static reputation systems.

Adult Content

5 categories
9
Adult / Pornography

Websites containing sexually explicit material including images, videos, stories, and other adult entertainment content not suitable for minors.

10
Nudity

Sites containing nudity in non-sexual contexts such as artistic photography, naturism, body positivity, and anatomical or medical references.

11
Dating & Personals

Online dating platforms, matchmaking services, personal classified ads, and relationship-focused social apps. Separated from adult content for policy flexibility.

12
Lingerie & Swimwear

Retailers and content sites primarily focused on intimate apparel, swimwear, and provocative fashion that may not be suitable for all workplace environments.

13
Sex Education

Educational resources about sexual health, reproductive biology, STI prevention, and family planning. Distinct from pornography for school and healthcare filtering policies.

Lifestyle & Sensitive

9 categories
14
Gambling

Online casinos, sports betting, poker rooms, lottery sites, and other wagering platforms. Includes both licensed and unlicensed gambling operations.

15
Alcohol & Tobacco

Manufacturers, retailers, and promotional content for alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, vaping, and e-cigarettes. Relevant for minor-protection filtering.

16
Drugs

Content promoting, selling, or providing information about illegal drugs, controlled substances, and drug paraphernalia. Includes dark-web marketplace mirrors.

17
Weapons

Firearms dealers, weapons manufacturers, ammunition retailers, knife shops, and content focused on weaponry, tactical gear, and military surplus equipment.

18
Violence & Gore

Extremely graphic or violent content, including real-world injury footage, shock sites, and platforms hosting violent extremist material.

19
Hate & Discrimination

Sites promoting hatred against groups based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, or orientation. Includes white supremacist and extremist propaganda domains.

20
Marijuana / Cannabis

Cannabis dispensaries, grow shops, legalization advocacy, and THC/CBD product retailers. Separated from the general Drugs category due to varying legal status.

21
Piracy & Copyright

Torrent indexes, warez sites, crack and keygen distributors, and platforms facilitating unauthorized distribution of copyrighted media, software, or intellectual property.

22
Cryptocurrency

Crypto exchanges, DeFi platforms, token sale sites, blockchain explorers, and NFT marketplaces. Separate from Cryptomining which covers illicit browser mining.

Productivity & Entertainment

9 categories
23
Social Networking

Social media platforms, micro-blogging, status-update services, and community sites where users create profiles and share content with connections.

24
Video Streaming

Video-on-demand platforms, live streaming services, user-uploaded video sites, and web-based television services that consume significant bandwidth.

25
Audio Streaming

Music streaming, podcast platforms, internet radio stations, and audio-on-demand services. Separated from video for granular bandwidth and productivity policies.

26
Gaming

Online games, browser-based games, game download platforms, gaming news, esports, and game-related community sites and wikis.

27
Forums & Message Boards

Discussion forums, Q&A platforms, bulletin boards, and comment-driven community sites. Includes Reddit-style aggregation and niche-topic forums.

28
Blogs & Personal Sites

Individual blogs, personal websites, journaling platforms, and self-published content sites. Distinguished from news by author scope and editorial structure.

29
Photo Sharing

Image hosting services, photography communities, screenshot sharing, and visual-first social platforms focused on photo uploads and galleries.

30
Humor & Entertainment

Comedy sites, meme platforms, webcomics, satirical content, joke aggregators, and general entertainment that does not fit streaming or gaming categories.

31
Sports

Sports news, scores, fantasy sports, team and league official sites, athlete profiles, and sports discussion communities excluding sports betting.

Business & Information

13 categories
32
News & Media

Established news outlets, press agencies, online newspapers, news aggregators, and current events reporting across all topics and regions.

33
Shopping & E-Commerce

Online retailers, product comparison engines, coupon and deal sites, auction platforms, and marketplace storefronts for physical and digital goods.

34
Finance & Banking

Banking institutions, investment services, stock trading platforms, insurance companies, financial news, and personal finance tools excluding cryptocurrency.

35
Technology

Tech news, software companies, IT service providers, developer resources, tech review sites, and hardware manufacturer websites.

36
Education

Schools, universities, online learning platforms, educational resources, course materials, academic journals, research institutions, and e-learning tools.

37
Government & Politics

Official government websites, public services portals, political parties, campaign sites, legislative resources, and civic participation platforms.

38
Health & Medicine

Healthcare providers, medical information, wellness and fitness, mental health resources, hospital systems, and pharmaceutical company websites.

39
Travel & Tourism

Airlines, hotels, travel booking engines, tourism boards, travel guides, vacation rental platforms, and transportation service sites.

40
Real Estate

Property listing sites, real estate agencies, home valuation tools, mortgage calculators, and commercial property platforms.

41
Jobs & Careers

Job boards, career advice sites, resume builders, recruitment platforms, freelance marketplaces, and professional development resources.

42
Automotive

Car manufacturers, dealer networks, auto parts retailers, vehicle review sites, car buying guides, and automotive enthusiast communities.

43
Religion & Spirituality

Churches, mosques, temples, religious organizations, spiritual content, meditation resources, and faith-based community sites.

44
AI & Machine Learning

Artificial intelligence tools, large language model interfaces, AI-generated content platforms, machine learning resources, and AI-as-a-service products.

Communication & Access

6 categories
45
Email Services

Webmail providers, email hosting platforms, temporary and disposable email services, and email marketing and newsletter tools.

46
Instant Messaging

Web-based chat applications, messaging platforms, team collaboration tools with real-time chat, and consumer messaging service web interfaces.

47
VPN & Proxy Services

Virtual private network providers, web proxy tools, anonymizers, and circumvention technologies used to bypass network filtering or hide browsing activity.

48
File Sharing & Cloud Storage

Cloud file hosting, file transfer services, peer-to-peer sharing platforms, and online storage providers used for document and media sharing.

49
Remote Access

Remote desktop tools, screen sharing services, SSH web clients, and remote administration platforms that provide control over distant computers.

50
VoIP & Video Conferencing

Voice-over-IP services, video meeting platforms, webinar tools, and online phone services that may require open ports or consume bandwidth.

Content & Infrastructure

8 categories
51
Advertising & Analytics

Ad networks, ad serving platforms, tracking pixels, web analytics services, marketing automation tools, and behavioral targeting domains.

52
CDN & Hosting Infrastructure

Content delivery networks, cloud hosting provider control panels, infrastructure-as-a-service platforms, and shared hosting management interfaces.

53
Parked & For Sale Domains

Unused domains displaying placeholder pages, domain parking services, domain auction listings, and expired domain landing pages.

54
Search Engines

Web search engines, meta-search tools, specialized vertical search services, and cached content viewers provided by search engine infrastructure.

55
URL Shorteners

Link shortening services, redirect tools, and branded short-URL platforms. These can obscure the true destination and are commonly used in restricted content and spam campaigns.

56
Translation Services

Online translation tools and proxy translation services. Translation proxies can be used to circumvent web filtering by fetching blocked content through the translator.

57
Software Updates

Operating system update servers, application update endpoints, patch distribution networks, and software repository mirrors that should generally be allowed.

58
Uncategorized

Domains that have been observed but do not yet have sufficient signals for confident classification. These are continuously re-evaluated as more data becomes available.

Building Effective Filtering Policies

The 59-category taxonomy enables fine-grained policy creation. Enterprise customers typically create multiple policy profiles: a strict profile for guest Wi-Fi that blocks web-based risks, adult content, lifestyle categories, and productivity distractions; a moderate profile for general employees that allows business and communication categories; and a permissive profile for IT staff that only blocks confirmed web-based risks.

Multi-category assignments are essential for nuanced filtering. A domain classified as both "News/Media" (0.91) and "Violence & Gore" (0.72) might be allowed under a news-permissive policy but blocked under a zero-tolerance violence policy. You can use confidence thresholds to tune how aggressively each category is enforced: a 0.90 threshold blocks only the most definitively violent news sites, while a 0.50 threshold catches borderline cases as well.

Our content classification integration ensures that security categories (1-8) are updated in real time as new content risks emerge, while the ML classification pipeline continuously improves accuracy for content categories (9-58).

Explore All 59 Categories Programmatically

Use our API to retrieve the full category taxonomy, query domains, and build custom filtering policies with confidence-based thresholds.

View API Documentation