RecruitingSmartRecruiters and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.
SmartRecruiters is a recruiting 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
- Recruiting
- Usual role
- Usually a processor
- Data location
- Often European Union, check your account
- Agreement
- Published by the vendor
What does SmartRecruiters do with personal data?
Publish job offers, receive applications and manage the hiring process. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of SmartRecruiters, as a starting point you can edit.
The data usually involved: candidate names, contact details, CVs, cover letters, interview notes and assessments.
Is SmartRecruiters a processor or a controller?
Most customers use SmartRecruiters as a processor: it handles personal data on their instructions, for the purposes they set. That is the common reading for recruiting 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 SmartRecruiters store personal data?
SmartRecruiters is usually associated with European Union, 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 SmartRecruiters says (read on 2026-11-05): “unless otherwise selected by the Customer” host Personal Data in the European Union Source: https://ta.smartrecruiters.com/rs/664-NIC-529/images/Pre-signed-DPA-GDPR-SmartRecruiters-with-Customers.pdf
How to find yours: Check your account settings, the address you log in to, or the provider’s data processing terms. Support can tell you if you cannot find it.
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 SmartRecruiters?
For the usual use of SmartRecruiters, companies most often rely on performance of a contract and legitimate interests (GDPR Article 6(1)). Reviewing an application is a step the candidate asked for before a possible contract; keeping a CV for other openings rests on a legitimate interest or on consent.
The interest you would state: “Assessing applications and keeping in touch with candidates for future openings, for a limited time.” The GDPR asks you to say which interest you pursue (Article 13(1)(d)).
Tell candidates how long you keep their data, often two years in France, and delete it after. 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: GDPR Article 6, lawfulness of processing, EDPB Guidelines 1/2024 on legitimate interest
Does SmartRecruiters have a data processing agreement?
Checked on 5 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.
Yes. SmartRecruiters 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: Pre-signed GDPR Data Processing Addendum, signed 17 Aug 2023; data importer SmartRecruiters, Inc. Hosts personal data in the EU unless the customer selects otherwise; EU SCCs Modules Two and Three, UK and Swiss terms, DPF not mentioned.
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 SmartRecruiters agreementHow to declare SmartRecruiters
- 1
In your privacy policy
Name SmartRecruiters as a recipient, say what it is used for (publish job offers, receive applications and manage the hiring process) 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 SmartRecruiters 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 SmartRecruiters 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 SmartRecruiters
- Set and apply a retention period for rejected candidates.
- Tell candidates in the job offer or the form who processes their data and how to reach you.
- Check what any automated screening or scoring does, and keep a person in the decision.
- Check the region and any transfer outside the EEA.
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Questions, answered.
Is SmartRecruiters GDPR compliant?
Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how SmartRecruiters 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 SmartRecruiters have a DPA?
Yes. SmartRecruiters 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://ta.smartrecruiters.com/rs/664-NIC-529/images/Pre-signed-DPA-GDPR-SmartRecruiters-with-Customers.pdf.
Is SmartRecruiters a data processor?
Usually, yes. Most customers use SmartRecruiters 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 SmartRecruiters?
For the usual use of SmartRecruiters, companies most often rely on performance of a contract and legitimate interests (GDPR Article 6(1)). Reviewing an application is a step the candidate asked for before a possible contract; keeping a CV for other openings rests on a legitimate interest or on consent. The interest you would state: “Assessing applications and keeping in touch with candidates for future openings, for a limited time.” The GDPR asks you to say which interest you pursue (Article 13(1)(d)).
Where does SmartRecruiters store data?
SmartRecruiters is usually associated with European Union, 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 SmartRecruiters says (read on 2026-11-05): “unless otherwise selected by the Customer” host Personal Data in the European Union Source: https://ta.smartrecruiters.com/rs/664-NIC-529/images/Pre-signed-DPA-GDPR-SmartRecruiters-with-Customers.pdf
Do I need to mention SmartRecruiters in my privacy policy?
Yes, if SmartRecruiters 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 SmartRecruiters to my vendor list?
In Privacyboard, pick SmartRecruiters 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 SmartRecruiters. 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.