Is Mixpanel GDPR compliant?

What does Mixpanel do?

Product analytics built on per-user event streams. It identifies returning users across sessions, which puts it well beyond anything that could be called strictly necessary.

Does Mixpanel need consent?

Yes. Mixpanel is Analytics, which is never strictly necessary for a website to function. Under ePrivacy Article 5(3), and its national transpositions, storing or reading anything on the device for that purpose requires consent first, and that consent has to be as easy to refuse as it is to give.

ePrivacy Art. 5(3) · TDDDG § 25 (DE) · TKG 2021 § 165(3) (AT) · GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)

Does Mixpanel send data outside the EEA?

Yes. Mixpanel processes data outside the European Economic Area, so you need a transfer mechanism under Chapter V and you have to say so in your privacy policy. In practice this means standard contractual clauses, or a provider certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

GDPR Art. 44 · GDPR Art. 46

What can I use instead of Mixpanel?

How do we detect Mixpanel?

We load your page in a real browser as a first-time visitor who clicks nothing, then look at what it contacted. Mixpanel is recognised by requests to mixpanel.com, and we report whether it merely loaded or actually sent data, and whether it set a cookie before any choice was made.