Email marketingMailchimp and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.
Mailchimp is a email marketing tool. Most customers use it as a processor, it publishes its data processing agreement, and it usually keeps data in the United States. 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
- Usually the United States
- Agreement
- Published by the vendor
What does Mailchimp do with personal data?
Manage mailing lists and deliver marketing campaigns. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of Mailchimp, as a starting point you can edit.
The data usually involved: names, email addresses, subscription preferences, campaign content and engagement data where enabled.
Is Mailchimp a processor or a controller?
Most customers use Mailchimp 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 Mailchimp store personal data?
Mailchimp usually keeps data in the United States for every customer on its standard service, so there is normally nothing to choose. Privacyboard prefills this and you can change it if your setup differs.
How to find yours: Mailchimp’s documentation describes where your audience data is hosted.
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.
Does Mailchimp have a data processing agreement?
Checked on 1 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.
Yes. Mailchimp publishes the text of its data processing agreement 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.
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 Mailchimp agreementHow to declare Mailchimp
- 1
In your privacy policy
Name Mailchimp 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 Mailchimp 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 Mailchimp 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 Mailchimp
- 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.
Questions, answered.
Is Mailchimp GDPR compliant?
Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how Mailchimp 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 Mailchimp have a DPA?
Yes. Mailchimp publishes the text of its data processing agreement 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://mailchimp.com/legal/data-processing-addendum/.
Is Mailchimp a data processor?
Usually, yes. Most customers use Mailchimp as a processor that acts on their instructions. Check your own agreement and how you use the tool, because the role can differ.
Where does Mailchimp store data?
Mailchimp usually keeps data in the United States for every customer on its standard service, so there is normally nothing to choose. Privacyboard prefills this and you can change it if your setup differs. How to find yours: Mailchimp’s documentation describes where your audience data is hosted.
Do I need to mention Mailchimp in my privacy policy?
Yes, if Mailchimp 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 Mailchimp to my vendor list?
In Privacyboard, pick Mailchimp 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.
Privacyboard is not affiliated with Mailchimp. 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.