GDPR-compliant image processing for EU marketplaces
Every image your sellers upload contains GPS coordinates, camera fingerprints, and timestamps
that qualify as personal data under GDPR. One POST /v1/process call strips
all of it — before your CDN ever touches the original.
UGC marketplaces and GDPR liability
User-generated content platforms face unique GDPR obligations. EXIF metadata in seller-uploaded images is personal data — and marketplaces are the data controllers.
Build in-house vs. Filtrate
Here's what it takes to automate GDPR image compliance yourself — versus one API call.
| Capability | Build in-house | Filtrate |
|---|---|---|
| EXIF stripping (GPS, camera, timestamps) | ⚠ Custom pipeline | ✓ Included |
| WebP compression at quality 85 | ⚠ Image processing library | ✓ Included |
| AI content moderation (GPT-4o-mini vision) | ✕ Requires additional vendor | ✓ Included |
| Batch processing (up to 50 images) | ⚠ Custom async job | ✓ Via POST /v1/batch |
| GDPR legal basis consultation | ✕ Required | ✓ Handled by Filtrate |
| Infrastructure to maintain | ✕ Ongoing ops cost | ✓ Zero |
| Latency | Varies | 1–5 seconds |
| Cost per image | $0.008–0.05+ | $0.002 |
Marketplaces by country
European resale and classifieds platforms — each serving millions of sellers whose personal image data is currently exposed.
How it works
Three steps to GDPR-compliant image processing — no infrastructure, no legal overhead.
Send your image URL
POST /v1/process with any image URL — public URL, signed CDN link,
or authenticated storage path. Filtrate fetches it server-side.
Filtrate processes it
EXIF stripped. GPS coordinates removed. Camera fingerprints erased. Compressed to WebP at quality 85. AI moderation verdict returned alongside the cleaned image URL.
Store and serve
The processed WebP is stored on Polsia R2 CDN. Your app serves the compliance-cleaned image. No original EXIF ever reaches your servers.
curl -X POST https://filtrate.polsia.app/v1/process \\ -H "Authorization: Bearer fk_live_..." \\ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \\ -d '{"image_url": "https://your-cdn.com/seller-photo.jpg"}' # Response — 1–5s { "verdict": "safe", "exif_stripped": true, "gps_found": true, "gps_removed": true, "output_url": "https://r2.cdn/cleaned-webp-abc123.webp", "processing_time_ms": 1840 }
Frequently asked questions
GDPR and EXIF metadata questions we hear from European marketplace teams.
Yes. GDPR applies whenever personal data is processed — and GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers, and timestamps embedded in image EXIF metadata count as personal data under GDPR Article 4. Marketplaces that accept and serve user-uploaded images without stripping this metadata may be processing personal data without a valid legal basis, exposing the company to fines up to €20M or 4% of global annual turnover.
Filtrate removes all EXIF and IPTC metadata including GPS coordinates (latitude, longitude, altitude), camera make and model, serial numbers, software version, shooting date and time, lens information, thumbnail images, and any other personally identifiable metadata. The output is a clean WebP image with zero EXIF retained.
Since Filtrate strips all EXIF metadata server-side before storing or serving the image, the metadata that would need to be erased is never persisted to your infrastructure. The image served to end users contains no GPS coordinates, camera fingerprints, or other personal data — eliminating the practical erasure burden for image metadata.
Filtrate responds in 1–5 seconds per image with $0.002 per processed image. There's no infrastructure to manage, no ML models to train, and no GDPR legal consultation needed — just a POST request with your image URL. Batch processing supports up to 50 images in parallel.
Yes. Filtrate accepts any public or authenticated image URL — you point it at your existing upload flow, CDN, or storage bucket. The cleaned WebP is returned via callback or polling. For marketplace integrations, add a Filtrate call as a middleware step before images reach your CDN.
Get started
API key in minutes. No contracts. No minimums. Scale from 1 to 100M images.
Get your API key →
No credit card required. $0.002 per image. No minimum. Pay-as-you-go.
Read the API docs →
Endpoint reference, code examples in 6 languages, SDKs, and integration guides.
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Paste a marketplace URL to see if seller photos contain GPS coordinates or camera data.