Email marketingAct-On and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.
Act-On is a email marketing tool. Most customers use it as a processor, it publishes its data processing agreement, and the data location depends on your account. Below: what to check and how to declare it.
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In short
- Category
- Email marketing
- Usual role
- Usually a processor
- Data location
- Often United States and United Kingdom, check your account
- Agreement
- Published by the vendor
What does Act-On do with personal data?
Manage mailing lists and deliver marketing campaigns. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of Act-On, as a starting point you can edit.
The data usually involved: names, Email addresses, Contract & billing data, campaign content, engagement data where enabled
Is Act-On a processor or a controller?
Most customers use Act-On as a processor: it handles personal data on their instructions, for the purposes they set. That is the common reading for email marketing tools and it is what Privacyboard suggests.
As a processor, it needs a written agreement with you under Article 28, and you should know which subprocessors it uses. Confirm the role against your own agreement, because the way you use a tool can change it.
Where does Act-On store personal data?
Act-On is usually associated with United States and United Kingdom, but the location can depend on your plan or settings. Privacyboard prefills it as a starting point that you should check in your account.
What Act-On says (read on 2026-11-05): Annex I lists the US, the UK and sub-processor countries Source: https://act-on.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Act-On-Data-Processing-Addendum.pdf
How to find yours: Check your account settings or the provider’s data processing terms.
If the data is processed outside the European Economic Area, Articles 44 to 49 require a transfer mechanism, such as standard contractual clauses, an adequacy decision or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Your privacy policy should name it.
Which legal basis usually applies to Act-On?
For the usual use of Act-On, companies most often rely on consent and legitimate interests (GDPR Article 6(1)). Marketing to consumers needs prior consent; the exception is similar products offered to existing customers, and B2B messages related to the person’s role.
The interest you would state: “Sending offers on similar products to existing customers, who can opt out at any time.” The GDPR asks you to say which interest you pursue (Article 13(1)(d)).
Each message must offer a free, simple way to unsubscribe. The balancing test is yours to do: the interest must be real, the processing necessary for it, and people’s rights must not outweigh it.
This is a starting point, not legal advice: the basis belongs to your activity, and you confirm it in your register.
Sources: CNIL: rules for prospecting by email, GDPR Article 6, lawfulness of processing
Does Act-On have a data processing agreement?
Checked on 5 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.
Yes. Act-On publishes the text of its data processing agreement as a PDF on its own website. Article 28 of the GDPR requires a written contract with every processor, so this is the document to read and keep.
What we noted when we opened the page: Data Processing Addendum effective 12 Jun 2026, incorporated into the subscription agreement. Contracting entity Act-On Software, Inc. (Delaware, US). Processing in the US, UK and sub-processor countries; EU SCCs with UK and Swiss addenda.
A page that exists does not mean you are covered. Whether the agreement applies to you depends on your plan and on what you accepted, so record the decision yourself in your vendor list.
Read the Act-On agreementHow to declare Act-On
- 1
In your privacy policy
Name Act-On as a recipient, say what it is used for (manage mailing lists and deliver marketing campaigns) and mention any transfer outside the EEA. Articles 13 and 14 ask you to tell people who receives their data.
- 2
In your vendor list
Add Act-On with its purpose, the data involved, its role, its region and a link to the agreement. Privacyboard prefills all of this, you confirm or correct it.
- 3
In your processing register
Link Act-On to the activities that use it, so each record shows its recipients. Article 30 asks the register to list the categories of recipients.
What to check before relying on Act-On
- Keep proof of consent and a working unsubscribe for every list.
- Check what engagement tracking is on, such as opens and clicks, and mention it in your policy.
- Record the region and any transfer outside the EEA.
- Make sure you can find and erase one subscriber across lists.
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Questions, answered.
Is Act-On GDPR compliant?
Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how Act-On is configured and used, on the agreement you have with it and on your own practices. What can be checked is documented here: it publishes a data processing agreement, the usual role and the data location. Read the agreement itself before relying on it.
Does Act-On have a DPA?
Yes. Act-On publishes the text of its data processing agreement as a PDF on its own website. Article 28 of the GDPR requires a written contract with every processor, so this is the document to read and keep. You can read it at https://act-on.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Act-On-Data-Processing-Addendum.pdf.
Is Act-On a data processor?
Usually, yes. Most customers use Act-On as a processor that acts on their instructions. Check your own agreement and how you use the tool, because the role can differ.
Which legal basis applies when I use Act-On?
For the usual use of Act-On, companies most often rely on consent and legitimate interests (GDPR Article 6(1)). Marketing to consumers needs prior consent; the exception is similar products offered to existing customers, and B2B messages related to the person’s role. The interest you would state: “Sending offers on similar products to existing customers, who can opt out at any time.” The GDPR asks you to say which interest you pursue (Article 13(1)(d)).
Where does Act-On store data?
Act-On is usually associated with United States and United Kingdom, but the location can depend on your plan or settings. Privacyboard prefills it as a starting point that you should check in your account. What Act-On says (read on 2026-11-05): Annex I lists the US, the UK and sub-processor countries Source: https://act-on.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Act-On-Data-Processing-Addendum.pdf
Do I need to mention Act-On in my privacy policy?
Yes, if Act-On handles personal data for you. The GDPR asks you to tell people who receives their data (Articles 13 and 14). Name the vendor or its category, say what it is used for and mention any transfer outside the EEA.
How do I add Act-On to my vendor list?
In Privacyboard, pick Act-On from the catalog. The purpose, the data, the suggested role and a link to its agreement are prefilled, and you confirm each one. Creating a workspace is free.
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Privacyboard is not affiliated with Act-On. Names and logos belong to their owners and are used only to identify the tool. This page summarises public documents as checked on 1 November 2026; it is guidance, not legal advice, and it does not certify any vendor.