Does your website use third-party services? Get GDPR compliant in minutes.
Try FlowConsentFree plan · 10-min setup
SalesViewer is a German B2B website visitor identification platform operated by SalesViewer GmbH. It captures the visitor IP at page load, resolves it server, side to identify the visiting company, and surfaces the result to the operator's sales team. Hosted entirely in Germany on ISO 27001 data centres, it is one of the few EU, native alternatives to US, based B2B intent tools, but still requires consent because it processes IP addresses and writes identifying cookies.
SalesViewer is a B2B website visitor identification platform launched in 2014 and operated by SalesViewer GmbH from Bochum, Germany. The product is built for German and European B2B sales teams that want to know which companies are browsing their website but never identify themselves through a contact form. The tracker captures the visitor IP, runs it through a network and provider database to find the most likely organisation behind it (typically by matching against a corporate IP allocation), and surfaces the result in a dashboard alongside the pages the company browsed. SalesViewer integrates with HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and Microsoft Dynamics so identified companies can be pushed into the CRM. Hosting is fully in Germany on ISO 27001, certified infrastructure.
SalesViewer writes a first, party cookie sv_visitor (typically 1 year) used to deduplicate visitor sessions, plus a session cookie sv_session for the current visit. The tracker collects the full visitor IP address, the user agent, the referrer, the URLs visited, the time spent on each page, and the visitor''s scroll behaviour. The IP is then matched against a database of corporate IP ranges to identify the company. SalesViewer also offers an optional contact enrichment add, on that pulls publicly available data about the identified company (size, sector, location) from external providers; this is done server, side and does not change what is stored on the visitor''s browser.
Even in a B2B context, the visitor IP is personal data under Article 4(1) GDPR (CJEU Breyer ruling), and the sv_visitor cookie qualifies as access to information stored on the terminal under Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive. Consent is therefore the safer legal basis under EU rules. SalesViewer GmbH publishes a DPA based on Article 28 GDPR; the operator acts as controller and SalesViewer as processor. The German data localisation removes the Chapter V transfer question, which is the main reason European B2B customers choose SalesViewer over Leadfeeder, Albacross or 6sense.
Get GDPR compliant in 10 minutes
Free plan available · No credit card required
Two patterns are common. Conservative pattern: load the SalesViewer tracker only after the visitor has accepted the Marketing or B2B identification category in the CMP. This is the position of the BfDI and the German LfDI authorities since the TTDSG came into force. Permissive pattern: rely on legitimate interest with a documented LIA that explains why B2B company identification is necessary, why the data subject''s rights are not seriously affected, and how the visitor can opt out. Several BfDI rulings have been mixed on the legitimate interest path, so consent remains the safest option for German audiences.
None. SalesViewer GmbH processes all data in Germany on ISO 27001 infrastructure and uses sub, processors based in the European Economic Area. There are no transfers to the United States or other third countries. This is one of the strongest selling points of the product compared with US, headquartered B2B intent tools, and it removes the need for SCCs, a Transfer Impact Assessment, or any DPF, dependent fallback. For organisations in regulated sectors (public administration, healthcare, defence) where US transfers are politically sensitive, this is a meaningful advantage.
Sign the DPA published by SalesViewer GmbH and add it to the record of processing activities under B2B prospecting. Decide between consent and legitimate interest, and document the choice. Gate the tracker behind your CMP if you go for consent. Configure a sensible retention period in the SalesViewer account (most B2B sales teams do not need more than 12 to 24 months of identification history). Update the privacy policy with a section on B2B identification, the legal basis, the cookies, and the German data location. Provide a clear opt, out mechanism for visitors who do not want their IP processed.
Websites using SalesViewer must obtain user consent under GDPR regulations.
DPIA considerations
A DPIA is recommended when SalesViewer is deployed at scale, when the identified visitor data is enriched with other sources to build company profiles, or when the tool is combined with personalised outbound prospecting. The processing is relatively low risk thanks to Germany hosting and the absence of US transfers, but the systematic identification of visiting companies based on IP qualifies as profiling for direct marketing, which crosses several DPIA criteria. Document the LIA or consent flow, the sub, processors, the retention period, and the contact rights for identified individuals.
Sample consent text
We use SalesViewer to identify the companies visiting our website and to improve our B2B outreach. SalesViewer is operated by SalesViewer GmbH and processes the visitor IP and a session cookie on servers in Germany to determine the visiting company. Do you accept the use of SalesViewer for B2B identification purposes?
Third-party domains contacted
salesviewer.comsv.salesviewer.comapp.salesviewer.comcdn.salesviewer.comCookies placed
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| sv_visitor | first-party | 1 year | Unique visitor identifier set by the SalesViewer tracker. Used to deduplicate sessions, link multiple page views from the same browser, and avoid double-counting the same visitor in the company identification report. |
| sv_session | first-party | Session | Session identifier used by SalesViewer to group page views and time-on-page measurements during a single visit. |
SalesViewer collects user analytics data — you legally need a consent banner. Try FlowConsent free.
SalesViewer writes a first, party cookie sv_visitor (typically 1 year) used to deduplicate sessions and link multiple page views from the same browser, plus a session cookie sv_session for the current visit. The full visitor IP, user agent, referrer and visited URLs are also processed server, side to identify the visiting company.
Yes in most cases. Even though SalesViewer hosts data in Germany, it processes the visitor IP (personal data) and writes an identifying cookie that goes beyond strictly necessary functionality. The BfDI and the major German LfDI authorities recommend consent under TTDSG. Some operators rely on legitimate interest with a documented LIA, but consent remains the safest option.
Consent (GDPR Article 6(1)(a)) is the recommended legal basis. Some operators rely on legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f)) for the company, level identification, with a documented LIA showing why the processing is necessary for B2B prospecting and how the rights of the data subject are preserved. The cookie consent and the data, processing legal basis must be documented separately.
No. SalesViewer GmbH stores all data in Germany on ISO 27001 infrastructure and uses only EEA, based sub, processors. There are no transfers to the US or other third countries, which removes the need for SCCs, a Transfer Impact Assessment, or any DPF, dependent fallback.
A DPIA is recommended at scale, when the identified data is enriched with other sources to build company profiles, or when SalesViewer feeds personalised outbound prospecting. The systematic identification of visiting companies via IP qualifies as profiling for direct marketing, which crosses several DPIA criteria of the BfDI list. Smaller deployments with documented LIA or consent typically remain below the threshold.
Sign the DPA published by SalesViewer GmbH, choose between consent (recommended for German audiences) and legitimate interest with a documented LIA, gate the tracker behind your CMP if you choose consent, set a sensible retention period in the SalesViewer account, document the German hosting in the privacy policy, and provide a clear opt, out mechanism.
Other EU, hosted B2B identification tools include Wiredminds (Germany), Lead Forensics with EU residency, Visitor Queue (Canada), and Echobot (Germany / Austria). US, headquartered alternatives such as Leadfeeder, Albacross, and 6sense come with US transfer concerns. For minimal privacy footprint, simple form, based lead capture combined with first, party UTM tracking remains a viable option.
List SalesViewer as a sub, processor with the cookies sv_visitor (1 year) and sv_session (session). State that SalesViewer GmbH is the processor, Germany is the data location, and no third, country transfers occur. Mention the legal basis (consent or legitimate interest) and link to SalesViewer's privacy policy. Include the opt, out mechanism for visitors.