GDPR Compliance for LLM Applications: Data Privacy, Right to Deletion, and Audit Logs

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Operating LLM applications in the EU requires strict GDPR compliance. Every prompt may contain personal data. Every response must be auditable. Every user has the right to deletion. In November 2025, with increasing regulatory scrutiny and €20M+ fines for violations, GDPR compliance is not optional—it's existential. This guide covers practical implementation of data minimization, prompt sanitization, deletion workflows, and audit logging for production LLM systems.

Key GDPR obligations:

  • **Article 5 (Data Minimization)**: Only process necessary personal data
  • **Article 6 (Legal Basis)**: Obtain consent or establish legitimate interest
  • **Article 15 (Right of Access)**: Provide users access to their data
  • **Article 17 (Right to Deletion/RTBF)**: Delete personal data on request
  • **Article 25 (Privacy by Design)**: Build privacy into system architecture
  • **Article 30 (Records of Processing)**: Maintain detailed processing records
  • **Article 32 (Security)**: Implement appropriate technical/organizational measures
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  • **Data minimization**: Only log what's absolutely necessary for audit/compliance
  • **Consent first**: Never process personal data without explicit consent
  • **Automatic deletion**: Set retention periods (30-90 days) with auto-cleanup
  • **PII sanitization**: Remove PII before sending to third-party LLM APIs
  • **Encrypt at rest**: Use database encryption for sensitive logs
  • **EU hosting**: Use EU-based LLM providers (Mistral, Aleph Alpha) or self-host
  • **SCCs for US APIs**: If using OpenAI/Anthropic, ensure DPF/SCC compliance
  • **Audit trails**: Log all data access, deletion, and consent changes
  • **Privacy by design**: Build GDPR compliance into architecture from day one
  • **Regular audits**: Review data retention, consent records quarterly

GDPR compliance for LLM applications requires systematic implementation of consent management, PII sanitization, audit logging, and deletion workflows. Use the GDPRCompliantLLMClient pattern to wrap all LLM API calls with compliance checks. Implement automatic log deletion after 30-90 days. Provide users easy access to their data and straightforward deletion workflows. These practices protect both user privacy and your organization from €20M+ fines.

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