How does the Privacy Policy Checker work?
Give us your domain, that is all. We fetch your homepage, locate the privacy policy link, read the policy and grade it against 12 GDPR checks. For the data sharing and social media checks we also look at what your homepage embeds, so a policy that stays silent about a tool we can see gets flagged. If your site blocks automated visitors or the policy is not online yet, upload the PDF or Word file or paste the text; the report is identical.
What do we check?
Twelve checks, each with a severity. A failed high severity check makes the overall verdict fail; medium severity issues are reported as points to improve.
- check_circleData subject rightsMentions GDPR rights such as access, rectification and erasure.
- check_circleData controllerIdentifies who acts as the data controller.
- check_circleData retentionDescribes how long data is retained.
- check_circleData sharingDescribes data sharing with third parties.
- check_circlePrivacy contact channelProvides a dedicated privacy contact, such as a DPO email.
- check_circleDocument substanceChecks the policy is a substantive privacy notice rather than a stub, placeholder or fragment.
- check_circleConcrete commitmentsChecks that the policy makes specific commitments about this organisation’s processing rather than restating GDPR terms in general.
- check_circleLegal groundsStates the legal basis for processing.
- check_circleNational authorityMentions the relevant national supervisory authority.
- check_circleSecurity measuresDescribes the security measures protecting personal data.
- check_circleSocial media clauseAddresses the social media platforms embedded on your site.
- check_circleLast updated dateIncludes a last-updated or effective date.
Why it matters
A privacy policy is the first thing a regulator, a customer or a complainant reads. Missing legal grounds, retention periods or the right to complain are the classic findings in an audit, and they are cheap to fix once you know they are missing. This checker finds them in a minute, before someone else does.
FAQ
Is the Privacy Policy Checker free?
Yes, completely free and without an account. The full report with all 12 checks appears on this page and you can download it as a PDF.
Do I need to find my privacy policy URL myself?
No. Enter your domain and we locate the policy page ourselves. If you prefer, paste the exact URL of your policy page instead.
What if my website blocks the check?
Some sites sit behind bot protection that refuses automated visitors. In that case upload your policy as a PDF or Word file, or paste the text. The report is exactly the same. Our fetcher identifies itself as GDPRwise Policy Bot; see gdprwise.eu/bot for what it does.
What happens to my document or text?
It is analysed in memory and not stored. We keep only the graded report. Policies are graded in English, Dutch, French and German.
What if my privacy policy fails the check?
Start a free GDPRWise discovery. It scans your website, builds your GDPR dossier and generates a privacy policy that reflects your actual tools, forms and third parties, with every gap from this report filled in.