File Transfer and GDPR: Why European Hosting Matters
GDPR and file transfer: understand the risks of non-EU services and how to choose a compliant solution with European hosting.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) governs how European businesses collect, store and transfer personal data — including files containing information about your clients or colleagues.
The risk of US-based tools
Most popular transfer services (Dropbox, WeTransfer, Google Drive) store data in the United States. This creates a serious GDPR problem: US law — notably the Cloud Act — can force these companies to hand over data to American authorities, even when that data belongs to European citizens.
Criteria for GDPR-compliant file transfers
- Data hosted in the EU or EEA
- Encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS) and at rest
- Automatic file expiry
- Transparent privacy policy
- No resale of data to third parties
USENDIT.IO and GDPR compliance
USENDIT.IO hosts all files via Cloudflare R2 with European localisation. No data ever leaves the European Union. Transfers expire automatically, and no personal data is sold or shared with third parties.
Practical tips for your transfers
- Avoid sending sensitive data (health, HR) via services without GDPR guarantees
- Always check where a service's files are physically hosted
- Enable automatic expiry to limit data retention periods
- Password-protect transfers containing confidential information
- Keep a record of your transfers to respond to regulatory requests
Special cases: regulated professions
Lawyers, doctors, accountants: you handle data covered by professional secrecy. Choosing a GDPR-compliant transfer solution is not optional — it is a legal and ethical obligation. European hosting is the minimum required.