Translate a privacy policy into German

GDPR vocabulary as it exists in German

The GDPR has an official German version, the Datenschutz-Grundverordnung (DSGVO). A credible German privacy policy uses its exact terms rather than loose equivalents. The ones to look for in your translation:

• controller → Verantwortlicher
• processor → Auftragsverarbeiter (not Subunternehmer, which means a commercial subcontractor)
• data subject → betroffene Person
• data protection officer → Datenschutzbeauftragter
• legitimate interest → berechtigtes Interesse; legal basis → Rechtsgrundlage
• right to object → Widerspruchsrecht; consent → Einwilligung

Article references follow their own notation: Article 6(1)(f) GDPR becomes Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. f DSGVO. Check this in every paragraph that states a legal basis.

The document title matters too. For a website or app, the usual term is Datenschutzerklärung, sometimes Datenschutzhinweise. Datenschutzrichtlinie tends to suggest an internal company policy, or the old EU directive.

Register, length and layout in German

Readers are almost always addressed formally: Sie haben das Recht, Auskunft über Ihre Daten zu verlangen. Some consumer brands use the informal du; if so, the whole policy must follow. A text that switches between Sie and du looks careless, and Article 12 GDPR calls for clear and plain language, which implies a consistent register.

German capitalises every noun and builds long compounds: Auftragsverarbeitungsvertrag, Speicherdauer, Widerrufsmöglichkeit. German text usually runs 20 to 35% longer than English. The weak spots in a privacy policy:

• the cookie table: narrow headers such as Purpose and Duration become Zweck and Speicherdauer, but the purpose descriptions grow noticeably and long compounds do not break neatly in narrow columns;
• numbered headings, which may wrap onto two lines;
• dates: 25.05.2018, and at the top of the document Stand: 1. März 2025 for the last update.

Decide on gender-inclusive wording before publishing: Nutzerinnen und Nutzer, Nutzer:innen or the generic Nutzer. Whichever you choose, keep it throughout.

What Manuce delivers, and what it does not

Your policy is handled by Thémis, the engine specialised in legal texts. You can upload Word, PDF, HTML, RTF, plain text or Markdown; the file comes back in the same format, layout included. A policy published on a website can therefore be translated from the page's HTML export. A typical example runs to about 2,500 words, or six pages.

What Manuce does not do:

• No scanned PDFs: a document scanned as an image, with no selectable text, cannot be read.
• No sworn or certified translation: if a German authority or court asks for a translation certified by a sworn translator, you will need one.
• No legal adaptation: the translation renders what your text says. If it refers to the UK GDPR and the ICO, or to a French or US regulator, the German version will too; it will not add the BDSG, a Land supervisory authority or the TDDDG (formerly TTDSG) for cookies.
• No Impressum: German websites need a separate legal notice page, which must be translated or written on its own.

For a text you intend to publish, the Professional or Premium level is a better fit than Essential, which is meant for understanding a document internally.

Germany, Austria, Switzerland: one text for all?

The translation is in standard German. The DSGVO vocabulary works for Germany and Austria, but the national framework differs:

• Germany: the supplementary BDSG, a supervisory authority for each Land, and the TDDDG for storing information on users' devices.
• Austria: the DSG, supervised by the Datenschutzbehörde.
• Switzerland: the revised Federal Act on Data Protection (DSG) applies instead of, or alongside, the GDPR; the authority is the EDÖB; and Swiss spelling replaces ß with ss: Massnahmen rather than Maßnahmen.

If Switzerland is your target, plan to replace every ß and have the legal references reviewed. One German version for all three countries is workable only if your source text already names the right laws and authorities.

Preparing the file and checking the German version

Before uploading:

• start from the version currently in force, with its update date;
• make sure the cookie table is real text, not a screenshot: text locked in an image is not translated;
• cookie banner texts managed by a consent tool are often not in the document; export them separately.

When you upload, the quote is based on the exact word count, and one paragraph is translated free of charge before you pay. Use it to check the register and one or two key terms.

After delivery:

• search for Verantwortlicher, Auftragsverarbeiter and betroffene Person: each should be used consistently;
• check every article citation (Art. 6 Abs. 1 lit. a DSGVO);
• confirm that addresses, email addresses and company names are unchanged;
• have the text approved by a lawyer or data protection officer familiar with the target country's law.

In practice

1. Export the current policy as Word, HTML or text-based PDF (not a scan).
2. Upload it to Manuce, choose German and review the quote.
3. Read the free paragraph: Sie or du, DSGVO terms, article citations.
4. Pay, then download the translated file from your client area.
5. Have the legal references reviewed for the target country before publishing.