Data privacy for marketers: How to protect your and your customer's data

Data is one of your most powerful tools in marketing, offering valuable insights into your audience and how your business is performing. It helps you optimize campaigns and make smarter, data-driven decisions.

But with great power comes great responsibility. When you collect and manage data, it's essential to do so with care—because mishandling it puts your customers' sensitive information at risk.

The steep price of overlooking marketing data security and privacy

Marketing data privacy means handling user information ethically, securely, and in compliance with local and regional laws. It’s about ensuring any data you collect—whether it’s an email address or aggregated analytics—is used only in ways customers expect.

Many companies have fallen behind on data security and paid a steep price. For example, Vastaamo Psychotherapy Center, a Finnish medical provider, went bankrupt in February 2021 after a major data breach compromised the PII (personally identifiable information) of more than 30,000 patients.

A single breach like that can undo months—or years—of built consumer trust. From a marketer’s perspective, leaks turn loyal customers into skeptics overnight, as recent research shows.

According to Cisco, 94% of organizations say customers would not buy from them if they did not protect data adequately. No matter how brilliant your campaigns are, people won’t engage if they fear their personal data isn’t safe.

Key data privacy regulations and why they matter

Marketers often encounter overlapping laws based on where they or their customers reside. Among the most impactful are:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) affects anyone handling data from European Union (EU) residents. It requires transparency, minimal data collection, and obtaining explicit consent for certain data types.
• CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) applies if you do business in California or handle data from Californians, and grants users the right to opt out of data sales and to request data deletion.

These regulations can feel overwhelming, but there are practical steps you can take to make compliance more approachable. It starts with collecting only the data you genuinely need, being transparent about your processes, and securing data through the best technical means available (like encryption).

If you transfer data across platforms, especially in the EU, you should avoid sending personally identifiable information (PII) to external regions without explicit consent. An easy way to stay compliant is to keep data within the EU or the EEA whenever possible.

For instance, if you use BigQuery, AWS, or Azure, you can store data exclusively in an EU-based data center, simplifying GDPR considerations. This isn't the only step to being GDPR-compliant, but it's an important one to take!

3 common marketing data privacy challenges and how to solve them

Unauthorized access to marketing channels

• What could happen: It's not uncommon to share marketing platform access credentials with team members and agencies. These accounts often store information about credit cards, putting your company at risk of being targeted by a phishing attack. Additionally, if anyone from your team resigns or you change agencies but still have login credentials, your account information is exposed to outsiders.
• How to avoid it: Limit who can view what; only those who need access to data should have it. The fewer people with permission, the smaller your attack surface for breaches. Encrypt all sensitive information so the data isn't immediately exploitable—even if someone gains unauthorized entry.

Exposure of collected personal data

• What could happen: Laws like GDPR and CCPA mandate that personal data (like IP addresses or email addresses) can’t be gathered without a lawful purpose, specific consent, or proper disclosure. Many marketers may not realize that items like IP addresses can be considered PII.
• How to avoid it: Collect only what you need for marketing. Under GDPR, each data point must have an apparent reason. In other words, if you don’t need someone’s home address, don’t request it! Provide users with a straightforward way to opt-out if they want to.

Data leaks when using AI tools

• What could happen: A new AI platform launches practically every day now, offering advanced analytics tools or creative solutions to common problems. However, not all platforms have robust data handling procedures. Handing over data to an unvetted service could leave your business exposed to leaks.
• How to avoid it: Conduct due diligence on potential vendors. Ensure they encrypt data and have compliance measures in place. Consider using a data integration solution that offers transparency about where data is moved and stored. Review each tool’s privacy policy and track record before adopting it into your tech stack.

Insecure data pipelines

• What could happen: Marketers often pull data from multiple sources—web analytics, CRM systems, social channels—and push it into business intelligence or reporting platforms. These marketing pipelines often become complex, making it tough to track exactly which of your users can see what.
• How to avoid it: Use GDPR- and CCPA-compliant data integration solutions to streamline pipelines that operate within the EU and US and don’t store customer data unless you have their permission.

Extra tip: As we mentioned, encryption is essential. Whether data is stored in the cloud or on-premises, you should encrypt at rest and in transit. That way, if someone gains unauthorized access, they can’t read the data outright.

9 best practices for staying compliant with data privacy laws

1. Practice consent management: If you’re collecting user data, explain what you collect, why, and how it’s secured. Even if you only store IP addresses, let users opt in or out if that data is personally identifiable.
2. Minimize data collection: Aim for big-picture insights—like total conversions—rather than personal details that could run afoul of GDPR or CCPA. For more on ethical data gathering, see our zero-party data guide.
3. Maintain transparency: Provide a clear privacy policy. Don’t bury the essentials in legalese—add a top-level summary that explains briefly what data you collect and why.
4. Secure your processes: Use encryption, strong access controls, and single sign-on (SSO) to manage who can log into tools. Better yet, keep thorough documentation of data paths. Most data leaks happen through social engineering or human mistakes, not technologically advanced hacking.
5. Evaluate every vendor: Ensure each AI and analytics tool you add meets your data security and compliance needs before handing them your valuable marketing data.
6. Stay within your lane: Only collect data vital to your legitimate business operations. Learn more about how too much marketing data can be less beneficial. Ultimately, data can be harder to manage than people.
7. Keep data local: If you handle EU data, store it in the EU or EEA to simplify compliance.
8. Use encrypted and secure storage: To increase your understanding of these security essentials, read up on marketing data security.
9. Seek legal guidance when you're unsure: A privacy lawyer or cybersecurity agency review can clarify your risk exposure blind spots.

Keep your (and your customer's) data safe

Even as data privacy laws vary across countries, the core principles remain the same:

• Only collect what you actually need—and explain why you need it.
• Keep data secure—encrypt it, limit access, and store it in the right region.
• Stay updated as privacy laws keep evolving, and adapt your data policies often.

Marketers can’t rely on “collect everything” tactics. Instead, refine your data approach to respect users' rights. By collecting minimal data and investing in robust security measures, you avoid legal trouble and build trust that gives you an edge in the market.