DatabaseSnowflake and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.
Snowflake is a database tool. Most customers use it as a processor, it explains how to get 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
- Database
- Usual role
- Usually a processor
- Data location
- Set per account or project
- Agreement
- Obtained through the vendor
What does Snowflake do with personal data?
Store and manage application records in a managed database. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of Snowflake, as a starting point you can edit.
The data usually involved: personal data stored in application tables, account identifiers and database logs.
Is Snowflake a processor or a controller?
Most customers use Snowflake as a processor: it handles personal data on their instructions, for the purposes they set. That is the common reading for database 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 Snowflake store personal data?
Snowflake 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 your account settings or Snowflake’s data processing terms for where your data is stored.
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.
Does Snowflake have a data processing agreement?
Checked on 1 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.
Snowflake does not publish the full text of its data processing agreement on a public page. The reference page explains how a customer gets or signs it, usually from inside the account. Article 28 of the GDPR still requires a written contract, so get it and keep a copy.
What we noted when we opened the page: Snowflake customer legal resources page; lists a Data Processing Addendum under Addenda plus terms and sub-processor material. No dates, contracting entity or hosting statement on the page itself.
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.
Open the Snowflake reference pageHow to declare Snowflake
- 1
In your privacy policy
Name Snowflake as a recipient, say what it is used for (store and manage application records in a managed database) 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 Snowflake 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 Snowflake 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 Snowflake
- Confirm the region chosen when the database was created.
- Check backup retention, since deleted records can live on in backups.
- Review who has access to production data and how that access is logged.
- Record any transfer outside the EEA and its safeguard.
Questions, answered.
Is Snowflake GDPR compliant?
Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how Snowflake is configured and used, on the agreement you have with it and on your own practices. What can be checked is documented here: it explains how to get a data processing agreement, the usual role and the data location. Read the agreement itself before relying on it.
Does Snowflake have a DPA?
Snowflake does not publish the full text of its data processing agreement on a public page. The reference page explains how a customer gets or signs it, usually from inside the account. Article 28 of the GDPR still requires a written contract, so get it and keep a copy. The reference page is https://www.snowflake.com/en/legal/.
Is Snowflake a data processor?
Usually, yes. Most customers use Snowflake 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 Snowflake store data?
Snowflake 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 your account settings or Snowflake’s data processing terms for where your data is stored.
Do I need to mention Snowflake in my privacy policy?
Yes, if Snowflake 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 Snowflake to my vendor list?
In Privacyboard, pick Snowflake 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 Snowflake. 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.