Complete GDPR Compliance Guide 2025

Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency

Process personal data lawfully, fairly, and transparently. Always have a legal basis for processing and be clear about how data is used.

Purpose Limitation

Collect data for specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes only. Don't use data for incompatible secondary purposes.

Data Minimization

Process only the minimum amount of personal data necessary to achieve your stated purposes.

Accuracy

Ensure personal data is accurate and kept up-to-date. Take reasonable steps to rectify or erase inaccurate data.

Storage Limitation

Keep personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.

Integrity and Confidentiality

Implement appropriate security measures to protect personal data against unauthorized processing, loss, or damage.

Right to Information

Individuals have the right to know what personal data you collect, how it's used, and who it's shared with.

Right of Access

Data subjects can request a copy of all personal data you hold about them, free of charge.

Right to Rectification

Individuals can request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.

Right to Erasure

Also known as 'right to be forgotten' - individuals can request deletion of their personal data.

Right to Restrict Processing

Data subjects can request to limit how their personal data is processed.

Right to Data Portability

Individuals can request their data in a structured, machine-readable format.

Right to Object

Data subjects can object to processing, especially for direct marketing purposes.

Rights Related to Automated Processing

Right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing.

Consent

Individual has given clear, specific consent for processing their data for a specific purpose. Must be freely given, informed, and withdrawable.

Contract Performance

Processing is necessary to fulfill a contract with the individual or to take pre-contractual steps at their request.

Legal Obligation

Processing is required to comply with a legal obligation that applies to your organization.

Vital Interests

Processing is necessary to protect someone's life. Rarely applies to website data processing.

Public Task

Processing is necessary for performing a task in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority.

Legitimate Interests

Processing is necessary for your legitimate interests, except where overridden by the individual's rights and freedoms.

• Map all personal data collection points on your website
• Identify all cookies and tracking technologies
• Document data processing activities (Article 30 record)
• Assess legal bases for each processing activity
• Review third-party data sharing agreements

• Install GDPR-compliant cookie banner
• Provide granular consent options for different cookie categories
• Implement consent withdrawal mechanisms
• Ensure consent is freely given, specific, and informed
• Keep records of consent decisions

• Create comprehensive GDPR-compliant Privacy Policy
• Develop detailed Cookie Policy
• Include all required GDPR information (Articles 13-14)
• Translate policies if serving EU users in multiple languages
• Ensure policies are easily accessible and understandable

• Create data subject access request forms
• Implement identity verification procedures
• Establish 28-day response timeframes
• Set up data portability and deletion processes
• Train staff on handling data subject requests

• Encrypt personal data in transit and at rest
• Implement access controls and user authentication
• Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
• Establish data breach notification procedures
• Backup and recovery procedures for personal data