How to Ensure GDPR Compliance in PostgreSQL

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How do I make my PostgreSQL database GDPR compliant?

Practical techniques to store, process, and delete personal data in PostgreSQL according to EU GDPR.

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Description

Example H2

Example H3

What does GDPR demand from your PostgreSQL schema?

GDPR requires you to minimize stored personal data, secure it in transit and at rest, audit access, and delete it on request. PostgreSQL supports all four pillars through native features and extensions.

How do I encrypt personal data at rest?

Use pgcrypto for column-level encryption or enable filesystem/volume encryption.pgcrypto keeps keys outside the database, satisfying separation-of-duties guidelines.

Example

Store encrypted emails in Customers:

ALTER TABLE Customers ADD COLUMN email_cipher bytea; UPDATE Customers SET email_cipher = pgp_sym_encrypt(email, :key); ALTER TABLE Customers DROP COLUMN email;

How can I limit who sees decrypted data?

Combine Row Level Security (RLS) with SECURITY DEFINER views.Only approved roles run decryption functions, protecting plaintext from curious users.

What is the right-to-erasure pattern?

Create a stored procedure that deletes or anonymizes customer rows and cascades through related tables (Orders, OrderItems). Log each invocation for auditability.

How do I audit data access?

Enable log_statement = 'mod' and install pgaudit to capture SELECTs on sensitive tables.Ship logs to long-term, immutable storage.

Best practices for GDPR in PostgreSQL

• Keep encryption keys outside the DB.
• Hash or mask personal data before using it in analytics.
• Remove unused PII columns quickly.
• Test erasure procedure in staging monthly.

What common mistakes should I avoid?

1. Forgetting to encrypt backups.
2. Creating ordinary indexes on plaintext PII columns.
3. Using application-only deletes without DB-level cascade.

Why How to Ensure GDPR Compliance in PostgreSQL is important

How to Ensure GDPR Compliance in PostgreSQL Example Usage


-- Anonymize a customer who requested erasure
SELECT erase_customer(42);

-- Grant only the DPO role the right to run it
GRANT EXECUTE ON FUNCTION erase_customer(INT) TO dpo;

How to Ensure GDPR Compliance in PostgreSQL Syntax


-- Column-level encryption
SELECT pgp_sym_encrypt('text', 'key', 'cipher-algo=aes256');
SELECT pgp_sym_decrypt(col::bytea, 'key')
  FROM Customers;

-- Row Level Security policy
ALTER TABLE Customers ENABLE ROW LEVEL SECURITY;
CREATE POLICY gdpr_mask_policy ON Customers
  USING (current_user = 'analytics_user')
  WITH CHECK (true);

-- Right-to-erasure procedure
CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION erase_customer(p_id INT)
RETURNS void LANGUAGE plpgsql SECURITY DEFINER AS $$
BEGIN
  DELETE FROM OrderItems WHERE order_id IN
    (SELECT id FROM Orders WHERE customer_id = p_id);
  DELETE FROM Orders WHERE customer_id = p_id;
  DELETE FROM Customers WHERE id = p_id;
END;$$;

Common Mistakes

Storing unencrypted backups: Failing to encrypt logical or physical backups leaves personal data exposed. Use pg_dump | gpg or filesystem-level encryption.
Indexing personal data: B-tree indexes on columns like email store plaintext in index pages. Use expression indexes on hashed values or avoid indexing PII.