Sovereignty Scan
Scan
Sovereignty Scan/Vendors/IONOS
Risk indicator, not a GDPR compliance verdict. Point-in-time assessment based on public web stack signals.Methodology & LimitationsCorrect listing / submit response
IONOS-Logo

Hosting

IONOS : Datenschutz, & EU Alternatives

IONOS is a German hosting provider (1&1 group) with data centres in Germany and Europe.

🇪🇺EUEU-Anbieter

Last checked:

Is IONOS GDPR compliant?

IONOS is EU/EEA-based: no third-country transfer at the primary vendor. Still check the subprocessor list.

Vendor Profile

Who is the contractual partner?

Jurisdiction
EU
Hosting
Deutschland / Europa
Owner
IONOS SE🇩🇪

Sovereignty Level: Level 3 of 4

EU-Anbieter mit US-Subprozessoren. Vertragspartner ist EU, aber ein einzelner US-Subprozessor reichert das Setup wieder mit Drittland-Risiko an.

  1. Level0
  2. Level1
  3. Level2
  4. Level3
  5. Level4

The five levels, from US-SaaS (Level 0) to fully sovereign (Level 4), we explain in detail here.

Contract & Subprocessor Chain

  1. 1.IONOS SE (Montabaur, Deutschland)
  2. 2.United Internet AG

Even if the main provider is based in the EU, a US subprocessor in this chain can trigger a third-country transfer. This is the core pitfall of .

Data Categories

What data does IONOS process?

In typical use, the following data categories arise. Which ones are relevant for you depends on your setup and scope of use.

  • All application data and logs
  • Database content (if on same infrastructure)
  • Access and audit logs

Data Subjects

Who is affected by the processing?

Under Art. 30 GDPR, you must document the categories of data subjects per processing activity. In typical use, these include:

  • All persons whose data your application processes

Concrete Impact

What does this mean in practice?

All application data and logs are stored with a US provider: the single largest compliance lever, and simultaneously the most expensive to change.

Note: This is a risk description, not a specific incident. Whether access occurred in your case depends on many factors. What can be documented: the risk must be named in your TIA and mitigated with additional measures.

Migration Plan

How to migrate away from IONOS

The following steps are the typical path for this tool category. Order and time required depend on your specific setup.

  1. 1

    Port IaC (Terraform / Pulumi) to European provider

  2. 2

    Migrate data via transfer service

  3. 3

    Greenfield workloads first, migration last

  4. 4

    Final cutover with DNS switch

We help with migration planning at no cost: 30 minutes with a data protection specialist to prioritise and define a migration sprint. Book appointment

Frequently Asked Questions

IONOS & Privacy: FAQ

Is IONOS GDPR-compliant?

IONOS is an EU/EEA-based provider and generally well-suited for GDPR-compliant setups. The usual obligations still apply: DPA, check the subprocessor list, document technical and organisational measures.

Who is the contractual partner for IONOS?

The contract chain includes: IONOS SE (Montabaur, Deutschland) · United Internet AG. The legal parent entity is decisive for data protection. Even if an EU subsidiary signs the DPA, a US subprocessor in the chain can trigger third-country transfer obligations.

What EU alternatives are there to IONOS?

There are several GDPR-compliant EU alternatives. They are listed under "EU Alternatives" on this page. The selection is tailored to the feature set of IONOS (Hosting / Cloud). meetergo covers the core workflow and can fully replace IONOS in many cases.

Where is IONOS data stored?

According to provider information: Deutschland / Europa. Note: even an EU data centre does not protect against the CLOUD Act when the parent company is in the US. This is the core finding of the Schrems II decision.

How much effort is involved in switching away from IONOS?

Migration effort depends on your specific setup: typically between a few business days (booking, forms) and several weeks (CRM, hosting). The roadmap below shows the typical order.

Related Vendors

More tools in Hosting

Next Step

Which tools are running on your website?

60 seconds, no login: the Sovereignty Scan shows all detected vendors with jurisdiction, risk, and matching EU alternatives.

To the ScanMethodology

Note

Hinweis

Risiko-Indikator, keine Rechtsberatung.

Der Sovereignty Scan wertet öffentlich erreichbare Signale aus (HTML der Startseite und Rechtsseiten, DNS-, MX-, SPF- und ASN-Daten) und vergleicht sie mit unserer Datenbank von ca. 3.000 Anbietern. Die Zuordnung von Tool zu Eigentümer und Jurisdiktion basiert auf öffentlichen Quellen (Impressum, Datenschutzerklärung, Wappalyzer, RIPE/ARIN-Registrierungen) und ist als Erstindikation zum Stichtag der Auswertung gedacht, nicht als rechtsverbindliche Bewertung.

Die Note A–E ist ein Risiko-Indikator, kein DSGVO-Konformitätsurteil. Für eine konkrete DSGVO-Bewertung, insbesondere für Auftragsverarbeitungsverträge (AVV/DPA), Standardvertragsklauseln (SCC) und Transfer Impact Assessments (TIA), wenden Sie sich bitte an Ihren Datenschutzbeauftragten oder eine externe Rechtsberatung. meetergo trifft keine Aussage darüber, ob ein konkreter Anbieter in einem konkreten Anwendungsfall DSGVO-konform eingesetzt werden kann.

Korrektur & Stellungnahme: Wenn Sie Domain-Inhaber, Datenschutzbeauftragter oder Pressestelle der bewerteten Domain sind und die hier gezeigten Signale nicht Ihrer aktuellen Tool-Konfiguration entsprechen, nehmen wir Korrekturen auf und passen die Anzeige nach Prüfung umgehend an.

Methodik & GrenzenListing korrigieren / Stellungnahme einreichen