What is UK GDPR? — UK Software Development Guide

4 min readJune 2025ClickMasters Technical TeamReviewed by Reviewed by James Whitmore, CTO
what is uk gdpruk gdpr explained

Direct Answer

UK GDPR (UK General Data Protection Regulation) is the post-Brexit version of EU GDPR, retained into UK law via the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and Data Protection Act 2018. It governs how personal data about UK residents must be collected, stored, processed, and deleted. UK GDPR applies to any organisation processing personal data about UK residents — regardless of where the organisation is based.

UK GDPR in the UK

UK GDPR is distinct from EU GDPR following Brexit, though the two are substantively similar. Key differences: the ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) is the UK regulator (not an EU supervisory authority), the maximum fine is £17.5 million or 4% of global annual turnover, and international transfers use IDTA (UK International Data Transfer Agreement) rather than EU Standard Contractual Clauses. For software developers, UK GDPR requires privacy by design (Article 25), appropriate security measures (Article 32), and Data Processing Agreements for third-party processors (Article 28).

Get Expert Advice on UK GDPR

Get Expert Advice on UK GDPR ClickMasters engineers apply UK GDPR principles in every project. Free consultation. → clickmasterssoftwaredevelopmentcompany.co.uk/contact/