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E-commerce

Swell and the GDPR: agreement, role and data location.

Swell is a e-commerce 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
E-commerce
Usual role
Usually a processor
Data location
Set per account or project
Agreement
Published by the vendor

What does Swell do with personal data?

Run an online store: take orders, process payments and manage delivery and customer accounts. That is how Privacyboard describes a typical use of Swell, as a starting point you can edit.

The data usually involved: customer names, email addresses, delivery and billing addresses, phone numbers, order history and payment status.

Is Swell a processor or a controller?

Usually a processor

Most customers use Swell as a processor: it handles personal data on their instructions, for the purposes they set. That is the common reading for e-commerce 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 Swell store personal data?

Set per account or project

Swell 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 store settings or the provider’s data processing terms.

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 Swell have a data processing agreement?

Checked on 1 November 2026. Vendors change their pages, so check the date.

Yes. Swell 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: Data Processing Addendum names Swell Commerce Corp. It states EEA personal data is processed in the US and may be transferred elsewhere. No single hosting region applies.

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 Swell agreement

How to declare Swell

  1. 1

    In your privacy policy

    Name Swell as a recipient, say what it is used for (run an online store: take orders, process payments and manage delivery and customer accounts) and mention any transfer outside the EEA. Articles 13 and 14 ask you to tell people who receives their data.

  2. 2

    In your vendor list

    Add Swell 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. 3

    In your processing register

    Link Swell 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 Swell

  • 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.
FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is Swell GDPR compliant?

Privacyboard does not certify vendors. Compliance depends on how Swell 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 Swell have a DPA?

Yes. Swell 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.swell.is/legal/data-processing-addendum.

Is Swell a data processor?

Usually, yes. Most customers use Swell 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 Swell store data?

Swell 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 store settings or the provider’s data processing terms.

Do I need to mention Swell in my privacy policy?

Yes, if Swell 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 Swell to my vendor list?

In Privacyboard, pick Swell 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 Swell. 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.

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