The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) sets out rules for how the personal data of people living in the EU must be handled. Exact Hosting applies the principles of the GDPR to all customers — regardless of where you live — because we believe the rights it grants are good practice for everyone. This article explains the three core ideas of the GDPR and how they affect your relationship with Exact Hosting.
About the GDPR
The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lays out a comprehensive framework for handling personal data. While the regulation itself is complex and far-reaching, at a high level it can be broken into three main concepts: consent and control, transparency, and the right to be forgotten.
Note: Exact Hosting extends these protections to all customers globally — not only to customers based in the European Union.
Common questions about the GDPR
What is "consent and control"?
Consent and control come down to a simple idea: your personal information belongs to you, and only you decide where it gets used.
To work with any of your data, Exact Hosting must:
- Tell you what we need your information for.
- Ask for your consent to use it.
- Collect only the minimum amount of information required to do the job.
- Ask again if we want to use information we already have for something new.
What does "transparency" mean under the GDPR?
Transparency is the part of the GDPR we hope never to invoke. It governs what happens in the event of a security breach.
If your personal data may have been exposed in a breach, Exact Hosting must:
- Notify you as soon as possible that the incident occurred.
- Tell you what happened.
- Explain what we are doing to address it.
- Recommend what you should do to protect yourself.
This empowers you to respond in the way that best fits your circumstances.
What is the "right to be forgotten"?
The right to be forgotten — also called the right to erasure — gives you the ability to revoke your consent for Exact Hosting to use your personal information. When you exercise this right, we essentially erase our record of you, giving you a fresh start.
Warning: The right to be forgotten has limits. Some services cannot be provided without certain personal information, and we sometimes have to retain data for reasons of public interest or to handle legal claims. The right to erasure applies to data we use because we have your consent — it does not apply to data we use because it is required to fulfill a contract (for example, the WHOIS data tied to a domain registration).
Does the GDPR apply to me if I don't live in the EU?
Strictly speaking, the GDPR is an EU regulation. However, Exact Hosting applies the principles described above to all customers regardless of where they live, because we believe these rights are good practice for everyone.
How do I exercise my GDPR rights with Exact Hosting?
To make a GDPR-related request — including a request for access, correction, or erasure of your personal data — contact Exact Hosting Support. We will route your request to the appropriate team and follow up with you about next steps.
Next steps
- Review Exact Hosting's privacy practices in the Privacy Policy.
- Learn more about WHOIS redaction by reviewing the Tiered Access (TACO) disclosure article — WHOIS redaction is one of the most visible ways the GDPR affects domain customers.
- Contact Exact Hosting Support if you want to exercise any of your GDPR rights or have questions about how we handle your data.
Questions? Contact Exact Hosting Support.
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