ips – Datenschutz-Siegel
Not a shop seal but a data-protection seal – officially GDPR-accredited since 2025.
What this seal checks
50 criteria across 8 modules
- Lawfulness of data processing (legal bases, special categories of data)
- Data-protection principles: privacy by design/default, purpose limitation, data minimisation
- Fulfilment of the duties to inform data subjects
- Technical and organisational measures (access, transport and input control, pseudonymisation)
- Data-protection management (data protection officer, record of processing activities, breach notification)
- Data-subject rights: access, rectification, erasure, data portability, objection
The ips seal has existed since 2003 (developed with Peter Schaar, the former Federal Data Protection Commissioner). In 2025 the scheme “GDPR – information privacy standard” was officially accredited by the DAkkS under Art. 42 GDPR.
How to check whether it's genuine
- 1Click the seal – it must lead to a certificate at datenschutz-cert.de.
- 2Look the body up in the public certificate list.
- 3Watch the issue and expiry date – the certificate is valid for around three years.
A real certificate or just an image?
A genuine seal leads, on click, to a valid certificate that names exactly this shop. A fake, by contrast, is just a logo – with no working proof.
Certified bodies appear in the public certificate list of datenschutz cert; the seal links to a certificate referencing the specific body.
datenschutz cert – ips / GDPR standardAn ips logo without a valid, current certificate record at datenschutz cert. Important: ips confirms data protection, not the trustworthiness of the entire shop.
ips is counted by the Verbraucherzentrale among the four most important online-shop trust seals (alongside Trusted Shops, EHI and the former TÜV s@fer shopping). It assesses data protection only.
Quick check for any seal
These four points apply regardless of the provider.
Click on the seal
A genuine seal is always linked and leads to a certificate page at the provider. If the logo is just an image and not clickable, the most important proof is missing.
The certificate must name this shop
The destination page must explicitly show the shop you came from – with the matching domain. A generic “valid” with no reference to the specific shop is not enough.
Look it up in the official list
Every reputable provider keeps a public, searchable list of certified shops. If the shop is missing there even though it displays the seal, that is a clear warning sign.
Check the status and date
Check the certificate status (valid / revoked) and the date. Expired or revoked certificates do not count – nor do seals from programmes that no longer exist.
Does a shop carry this seal – rightfully?
Our fake-shop check automatically detects seals without a valid certificate link – together with over 30 more trust signals.
Check a shop for freeMore trust seals
View all seals
DE / EUActiveTrusted Shops
Shop certification
The best-known European shop seal – the only one with its own buyer protection.
Seal explained
DEActiveEHI „Geprüfter Online-Shop“
Shop certification
The first German online-shop seal – with the strictest catalogue of legal texts.
Seal explained
DEDiscontinuedTÜV Süd „s@fer shopping“
Shop certification
Caution: discontinued in 2021. An s@fer-shopping seal shown today is a warning sign.
Seal explainedFakeshop AI has no business relationship with the seal providers mentioned here and is neither authorised nor commissioned by them. This overview is independent, editorial consumer information. All brand names, seal names and logos belong to their respective owners and are shown only for explanation and recognition. Information is provided to the best of our knowledge and without guarantee – the respective provider is always authoritative.