Is YouTube embed GDPR compliant?

What does YouTube embed do?

A standard YouTube embed contacts Google and sets cookies as soon as the page loads, before anyone presses play. Switch the embed to youtube-nocookie.com, or load it only after consent.

Does YouTube embed need consent?

Yes. YouTube embed is Embedded media, 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 YouTube embed send data outside the EEA?

Yes. YouTube embed 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 YouTube embed?

How do we detect YouTube embed?

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