Sign up free

Send GDPR-friendly newsletters

At Minutemailer, GDPR compliance and safeguarding the privacy of you and your customers is our top priority. Trust us to handle your data with the utmost care and security.

Send GDPR-friendly newsletters

GDPR and newsletters

What does GDPR say about email marketing? In short this:

  1. Consent: Individuals must provide express consent to receive email marketing.
  2. Transparency: Marketers must clearly communicate what data is collected and how it will be used.
  3. Right to withdraw consent: Individuals have the right to withdraw their consent at any time, usually via an unsubscribe link. This is included in all emails sent via Minutemailer.
  4. Security: Only collect necessary data and ensure it is protected from unauthorized access.
  5. Liability: You need to prove compliance yourself, including how and when consent was obtained.

GDPR and companies

According to GDPR, emails to business addresses are generally handled differently than if you send emails to personal addresses. GDPR is primarily about the protection of personal data of individuals.

This is what you should consider when sending emails to companies:

  1. Company Contacts: Emails sent to public company addresses (such as info@company.com) are not subject to the same strict GDPR requirements as those sent to personal email addresses (such as john.doe@company.com).

  2. Personal data: If the email address contains a person’s name or is directly identifiable (e.g. firstname.lastname@company.com), it is considered personal data and GDPR rules on consent, transparency and data protection apply.

  3. Legitimate interest: Companies can often justify the processing of personal data for business-to-business (B2B) communications based on “legitimate interest”.

In conclusion, although GDPR is less strict when it comes to purely corporate communications, you need to be careful about personal data and what you send to whom.

If you have further questions, you can always contact the data protection officer at support@minutemailer.com.

Please also read our terms of service.

Sending to people in the UK: UK GDPR and PECR

The UK has its own version of the law, the UK GDPR, which works in much the same way as the EU’s. Email marketing to people in the UK is also covered by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) enforces.

This is what PECR means for your newsletter:

  1. Individuals need to have agreed: You need consent to send marketing emails to individuals, unless the soft opt-in applies. Sole traders and some partnerships count as individuals.

  2. The soft opt-in: You can email existing customers without separate consent if you got their address yourself during a sale or the negotiation of a sale, you only market your own similar products or services, and you gave them a clear chance to opt out both when you collected the address and in every email. It can’t be used for bought lists.

  3. Companies: You can send marketing emails to limited companies, LLPs and other corporate bodies without consent or a soft opt-in. You must still say who you are and give a valid address to opt out at, and you should respect it when someone does. A named work address like firstname.lastname@company.co.uk is still personal data, so UK GDPR applies to it.

  4. If you’re not sure: An email address doesn’t always show whether someone is a sole trader or a limited company. If you can’t tell, get consent.

Every email sent with Minutemailer includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribes are handled automatically. This is general information and not legal advice: see the ICO’s guidance on electronic mail marketing for the details.

Questions about GDPR

What is GDPR?

The GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, is a European privacy law. It regulates how personal data of individuals in the EU can be collected, used, and processed. The law impacts European companies, businesses that target European individuals, and those that collect, use, or process the personal data of European individuals. This means the GDPR will apply to most organizations that process personal data of EU individuals, regardless of where the business is established and where their processing activities take place.

How can Minutemailer help me with GDPR?

Minutemailer can help you collect contact details according to GDPR which are then stored securely in our database. Minutemailer AB is a Swedish company and follows GDPR. All emails sent via Minutemailer also include a clear link to unsubscribe.

How do we enter into a personal data processing agreement with you?

Our general terms and conditions for Minutemailer include a personal data processing agreement. When you create an account on Minutemailer, you accept the terms of the service, including the personal data processing agreement. Learn more about managing your contacts.

How is my data saved?

Your data is stored securely with established cloud providers, and all sensitive data is encrypted. Minutemailer AB is a Swedish company and follows GDPR. For some features we use carefully chosen providers, such as OpenAI for AI writing and Stripe for payments.

For how long is my data saved?

The data is stored in accordance with Swedish laws and guidelines. If you choose to delete your account on Minutemailer, all data linked to your account that contains personal information will be deleted within ninety days.