GDPR for Indie Hackers and Solo Founders

GDPR has a reputation for being complicated, expensive, and only relevant to big companies. None of those things are true.

If you're a solo founder building a SaaS, an indie hacker launching a side project, or a developer selling a digital product — GDPR applies to you. But what it actually requires from you is much simpler than the consultants and compliance platforms would have you believe.

Here's the plain English version.

What Is GDPR, Actually?

GDPR — the General Data Protection Regulation — is a law that governs how organisations collect, store, and use personal data from people in the UK and EU.

It came into force in 2018. After Brexit, the UK adopted its own version (UK GDPR) which is almost identical to the EU version. If you have users in either the UK or EU, both apply to you regardless of where your business is based.

The core idea is simple: if you're going to collect someone's personal data, you have to be honest about it, have a legitimate reason for it, and give people control over it.

Does GDPR Actually Apply to Solo Founders?

Yes. There is no minimum size threshold. A one-person SaaS with 50 users is subject to the same regulation as a company with 50,000 users.

The difference is enforcement. The ICO (the UK's data protection regulator) prioritises investigating large-scale breaches and repeat offenders. The chance of a solo founder with a small product being investigated is low — unless you do something egregious, like selling user data or suffering a breach that exposes thousands of records.

But the legal obligation still exists. And the practical risk is less about fines and more about trust. Enterprise customers and informed users will ask about your GDPR compliance. Not having a privacy policy or a clear data practice will cost you deals.

What GDPR Actually Requires From You

Here's the real list — not the consultant's version, the founder's version.

1. Publish a privacy policy

This is the single most important requirement. Your privacy policy must explain:

• What data you collect
• Why you collect it
• Who you share it with
• How long you keep it
• How users can access, correct, or delete their data

If you do nothing else, do this.

2. Have a legal basis for collecting data

You can't collect data "just in case." You need a reason. For most small products, the reason is one of:

• Contract — you need the email to deliver the service
• Legitimate interests — analytics to improve the product
• Consent — explicit opt-in for marketing emails

Most indie products run entirely on "contract" and "legitimate interests." You don't need a cookie consent banner for analytics if you're using privacy-first tools like Plausible or Fathom (which don't use cookies).

3. Respond to data requests

Users have the right to ask what data you hold about them, request corrections, or ask for deletion. You must respond within 30 days.

For most small products, this means: if a user emails and asks you to delete their account and data, you delete it. Simple.

4. Don't keep data longer than you need it

You can't hold onto user data indefinitely. Define retention periods: how long you keep account data after a user leaves, how long you keep payment records (7 years for tax purposes), how long you keep analytics data.

5. Secure the data you do hold

Use HTTPS. Use strong passwords. Don't store passwords in plain text. Use reputable third-party services (Stripe, Supabase, etc.) that are already compliant. This is mostly common sense.

What You Can Safely Ignore (For Now)

A Data Protection Officer (DPO): Only required if you process large volumes of sensitive data. Not relevant to most indie products.

Data Processing Agreements with every vendor: Required in theory, but major vendors (Stripe, Google, Intercom) have these as standard in their terms of service. You don't need to negotiate custom agreements.

Cookie consent banners for analytics: Not required if you use privacy-first analytics (Plausible, Fathom, Simple Analytics) that don't set cookies or collect personal data.

GDPR certification or compliance audits: Not a legal requirement. A marketing product sold to founders who don't know better.

The Three Things You Actually Need

If you're an indie hacker launching a product today, here's your GDPR to-do list:

1. A privacy policy — covering what you collect, why, who you share it with, and user rights 2. A cookie policy — if you use any cookies or tracking tools 3. A process for handling data requests — an email address users can write to

That's it. Everything else can wait until you're bigger.

Getting the Documents Done

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