FormsSurveyMonkey and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.
SurveyMonkey is a forms 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
- Forms
- Usual role
- Usually a processor
- Data location
- Set per account or project
- Agreement
- Published by the vendor
What does SurveyMonkey do with personal data?
Collect and manage responses to online forms and surveys. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of SurveyMonkey, as a starting point you can edit.
The data usually involved: respondent names, email addresses, submitted answers and any attachments collected by the form.
Is SurveyMonkey a processor or a controller?
Most customers use SurveyMonkey as a processor: it handles personal data on their instructions, for the purposes they set. That is the common reading for forms 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 SurveyMonkey store personal data?
SurveyMonkey does not have one fixed location for every customer. SurveyMonkey offers optional EU data storage for customers outside the US, EU and UK.
How to find yours: Check your account settings for the data storage option, or SurveyMonkey’s data processing agreement.
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 SurveyMonkey have a data processing agreement?
Checked on 1 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.
Yes. SurveyMonkey 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.
What we noted when we opened the page: Full text. Latest version dated Dec 27, 2025. An optional EU data storage setting exists for customers outside the US, EU and UK. Customers outside the US contract with SurveyMonkey Europe UC (Ireland).
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 SurveyMonkey agreementHow to declare SurveyMonkey
- 1
In your privacy policy
Name SurveyMonkey as a recipient, say what it is used for (collect and manage responses to online forms and surveys) 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 SurveyMonkey 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 SurveyMonkey 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 SurveyMonkey
- Show a short notice at the point of collection, with a link to your policy.
- Collect only the fields you need.
- Set a retention period for responses and attachments.
- Record the region and where responses are exported to.
Questions, answered.
Is SurveyMonkey GDPR compliant?
Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how SurveyMonkey 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 SurveyMonkey have a DPA?
Yes. SurveyMonkey 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://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/data-processing-agreement/.
Is SurveyMonkey a data processor?
Usually, yes. Most customers use SurveyMonkey 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 SurveyMonkey store data?
SurveyMonkey does not have one fixed location for every customer. SurveyMonkey offers optional EU data storage for customers outside the US, EU and UK. How to find yours: Check your account settings for the data storage option, or SurveyMonkey’s data processing agreement.
Do I need to mention SurveyMonkey in my privacy policy?
Yes, if SurveyMonkey 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 SurveyMonkey to my vendor list?
In Privacyboard, pick SurveyMonkey 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 SurveyMonkey. 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.