Security and compliance

Can I email companies in Europe, and what does GDPR say?

EU business email usually relies on legitimate interest; it needs relevant content, a clear identity and an easy opt-out.

In the European Union, a person's business email address is personal data and falls under GDPR. The legal basis commonly used for promotional email to businesses is legitimate interest. That requires:

  • content relevant to the recipient's business role,
  • a clear sender identity and an easy way to opt out,
  • prompt handling of deletion and objection requests.

Some EU countries, such as Germany, apply stricter rules to business email. Check the target country's rules before launching a campaign.

What Outfound does: every email gets your company details and an unsubscribe link; people who unsubscribe or are removed on request go onto Blocked addresses. When you launch a campaign, the Compliance Preflight Check warns about recipients that may require consent.

This article is not legal advice; you are responsible for the emails you send.

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