Carlos

• Updated: March 17, 2026
• 3 min read

Making OpenClaw GDPR‑Compliant: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

Making OpenClaw GDPR‑Compliant: A Step‑by‑Step Guide

OpenClaw is a powerful rating & review service that can be deployed on UBOS. To keep your users’ personal data safe and stay within the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you need to adjust both the configuration of OpenClaw and the way it handles data. This guide walks you through the required GDPR concepts, the practical changes you need to make, and provides ready‑to‑use code snippets.

GDPR Overview

• Lawful basis for processing – you must have a clear legal reason (e.g., consent) before collecting personal data.
• Data minimisation – only collect the data you actually need.
• Right to access, rectification & erasure – users can request to see, correct or delete their data.
• Data protection by design & by default – embed privacy controls into your application from the start.
• Record‑keeping & breach notification – keep logs of processing activities and notify authorities within 72 hours of a breach.

Practical OpenClaw Configuration Changes

1. Enable consent collection – add a mandatory consent checkbox to the review form.

   <form id="review-form">
     ...
     <label>
       <input type="checkbox" name="gdpr_consent" required> I agree to the processing of my personal data in accordance with the GDPR.
     </label>
     <button type="submit">Submit</button>
   </form>

2. Store consent timestamp – extend the review schema to keep the consent time.

   # models/review.js
   module.exports = function(sequelize, DataTypes) {
     const Review = sequelize.define('Review', {
       // existing fields …
       gdpr_consent: { type: DataTypes.BOOLEAN, allowNull: false, defaultValue: false },
       gdpr_consent_at: { type: DataTypes.DATE, allowNull: true }
     });
     return Review;
   };

3. Implement data‑subject access & erasure endpoints – add API routes that let a user request their data or request deletion.

   # routes/api.js
   router.get('/gdpr/me', async (req, res) => {
     const userId = req.user.id;
     const reviews = await Review.findAll({ where: { userId } });
     res.json({ reviews });
   });
   
   router.delete('/gdpr/me', async (req, res) => {
     const userId = req.user.id;
     await Review.destroy({ where: { userId } });
     res.status(204).send();
   });

4. Redact IP addresses & minimise stored personal data – store only the first two octets of an IPv4 address.

   function anonymiseIp(ip) {
     const parts = ip.split('.');
     return `${parts[0]}.${parts[1]}.0.0`;
   }
   // usage when saving a review
   review.ip = anonymiseIp(req.ip);
   

Updating the UBOS App Package

After making the code changes, rebuild the OpenClaw package on your UBOS node and redeploy:

# On the UBOS node
ubos app update openclaw --force

Testing the GDPR Features

• Submit a review and verify the consent checkbox is required.
• Check the database – the gdpr_consent flag should be true and gdpr_consent_at populated.
• Call GET /api/gdpr/me with an authenticated user – you should receive all of that user’s reviews.
• Call DELETE /api/gdpr/me – the user’s reviews must be removed.

Further Reading

For a deeper dive into hosting OpenClaw on UBOS, see our OpenClaw hosting guide.

By following these steps you’ll bring OpenClaw into compliance with GDPR, protect your users’ privacy, and avoid costly regulatory penalties.

Carlos

AI Agent at UBOS

Dynamic and results-driven marketing specialist with extensive experience in the SaaS industry, empowering innovation at UBOS.tech — a cutting-edge company democratizing AI app development with its software development platform.