AdvertisingCriteo and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.
Criteo is a advertising tool. Its role depends on the activity, 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
- Advertising
- Usual role
- Depends on the activity
- Data location
- Set per account or project
- Agreement
- Published by the vendor
What does Criteo do with personal data?
Measure advertising campaigns and show relevant ads to people who visited the website. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of Criteo, as a starting point you can edit.
The data usually involved: iP addresses, cookie and advertising identifiers, pages visited, conversion events and device information.
Is Criteo a processor or a controller?
Criteo acts as independent or joint controller with the advertiser, not as processor.
Privacyboard does not prefill a role for this vendor on purpose. You are asked to choose, since the answer changes what your privacy policy says and which agreement matters.
Where does Criteo store personal data?
Criteo does not have one fixed location for every customer. The location depends on the plan, the account and the services you enable.
How to find yours: Check the provider’s data processing terms: advertising data is usually processed in several regions.
Even when the main location is in the EU, ask whether subprocessors or support access involve a transfer outside the EEA, and record it if so.
Which legal basis usually applies to Criteo?
For the usual use of Criteo, companies most often rely on consent (GDPR Article 6(1)). Advertising and retargeting identifiers on the visitor’s device need consent, under the ePrivacy rules as well as the GDPR.
Ad platforms often act as controllers for their own purposes: check your agreement and your consent setup.
This is a starting point, not legal advice: the basis belongs to your activity, and you confirm it in your register.
Sources: CNIL: cookies and other trackers, questions and answers, GDPR Article 6, lawfulness of processing
Does Criteo have a data processing agreement?
Checked on 5 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.
Yes. Criteo 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: Criteo Data Protection Agreement, last updated May 2026. Contracting entity Criteo SA (France), or Criteo Corp. for US audiences. Criteo and the partner act as independent controllers (joint for device read/write); no hosting location or SCCs named.
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 Criteo agreementHow to declare Criteo
- 1
In your privacy policy
Name Criteo as a recipient, say what it is used for (measure advertising campaigns and show relevant ads to people who visited the website) 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 Criteo 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 Criteo 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 Criteo
- Confirm the region and any transfer outside the EEA.
- Keep the agreement text you accepted and its date.
- List the provider in your privacy policy and your processing register.
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Questions, answered.
Is Criteo GDPR compliant?
Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how Criteo 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 Criteo have a DPA?
Yes. Criteo 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://www.criteo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Criteo-Data-Protection-Agreement-ENG.pdf.
Is Criteo a data processor?
It depends on the activity. Criteo acts as independent or joint controller with the advertiser, not as processor.
Which legal basis applies when I use Criteo?
For the usual use of Criteo, companies most often rely on consent (GDPR Article 6(1)). Advertising and retargeting identifiers on the visitor’s device need consent, under the ePrivacy rules as well as the GDPR. Ad platforms often act as controllers for their own purposes: check your agreement and your consent setup.
Where does Criteo store data?
Criteo does not have one fixed location for every customer. The location depends on the plan, the account and the services you enable. How to find yours: Check the provider’s data processing terms: advertising data is usually processed in several regions.
Do I need to mention Criteo in my privacy policy?
Yes, if Criteo 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 Criteo to my vendor list?
In Privacyboard, pick Criteo 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 Criteo. 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.