---
title: "Privacy & GDPR"
description: "##### GDPR Compliance Concerns Is PulseRank GDPR compliant by default? **Yes.** PulseRank follows WordPress privacy standards: - IP addresses hashed (SHA-256 + salt) - No personal data collected (names, emails, etc.) - Data stored locally (not sent to external servers) -…"
url: "https://pulserank.ai/docs/privacy-gdpr/"
updated: "2026-01-09"
category: Troubleshooting
---

# Privacy & GDPR

##### GDPR Compliance Concerns

Is PulseRank GDPR compliant by default?

**Yes.** PulseRank follows WordPress privacy standards:

- IP addresses hashed (SHA-256 + salt)
- No personal data collected (names, emails, etc.)
- Data stored locally (not sent to external servers)
- Privacy export/delete support built-in
- Minimal cookies (single first-party session)
- No third-party tracking scripts

##### Privacy Export Not Working

PulseRank data not included in WordPress export

**Feature:** WordPress → Tools → Export Personal Data

**Expected:** PulseRank data included in export ZIP

**If not included:**

- **Check Email Hash:** PulseRank links data to user email hash. Export only works for logged-in users.
- **Verify Tables:** Ensure wp_pulserank_hits has email_hash column. May need plugin update if upgrading from very old version.
- **Test Export:**

```
// Check if user has PulseRank data
global $wpdb;
$email = 'user@example.com';
$hash = hash( 'sha256', strtolower( trim( $email ) ) . wp_salt( 'auth' ) );
$count = $wpdb->get_var( $wpdb->prepare(
    "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM {$wpdb->prefix}pulserank_hits WHERE email_hash = %s",
    $hash
) );
echo "Records: $count";
```

#### Cookie Consent Integration

Does PulseRank work with cookie consent plugins?

**Yes, via filter hook.**

**Example with CookieYes, Complianz, etc.:**

```
add_filter( 'pulserank_tracking_enabled', function( $enabled ) {
    // Check if user has given analytics consent
    if ( ! your_consent_plugin_has_analytics_consent() ) {
        return false; // Disable PulseRank tracking
    }
    return $enabled;
} );
```

**Built-in Consent Plugins:**

- **CookieYes:** Use `cookieyes_check_cookie('analytics')`
- **Complianz:** Use `cmplz_has_consent('marketing')`
- **Cookie Notice:** Check `$_COOKIE['cookie_notice_accepted']`