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ShortPixel Image Optimizer is a WordPress plugin from ShortPixel SRL, a company based in Romania in the European Union. It compresses and converts images by sending image files to the ShortPixel optimization API and can deliver them through an optional Adaptive Images CDN. The core optimization is server side and sets no visitor tracking cookies, which makes it a low risk, privacy first choice for European publishers.
ShortPixel Image Optimizer is a WordPress plugin developed by ShortPixel SRL, a company established in Romania within the European Union. It reduces image file sizes and converts formats so that pages load faster, which improves performance and user experience. The plugin sends image files to the ShortPixel optimization API and can optionally deliver images through the ShortPixel Adaptive Images content delivery network. Its EU origin is a meaningful compliance advantage for European publishers who want to keep processing close to home.
The core optimization processes the image files themselves and the account API key used to authenticate requests, not visitor behaviour. It sets no tracking cookies on visitors, so there is no profiling and no persistent identifier tied to a person. If the optional Adaptive Images CDN is enabled, the edge network necessarily processes the visitor IP address to deliver the correct image, as any content delivery network does. Beyond that technical necessity, ShortPixel is not designed to monitor or identify individual visitors.
Because the optimization does not store or read information on the user device for tracking, article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive is not triggered for the service itself. The publisher can rely on legitimate interest under article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR to deliver optimised images, since this is a routine technical operation with low impact on individuals. The IP processing of any CDN should be acknowledged in the privacy notice. Overall the GDPR footprint is small and easy to justify.
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No consent banner is needed for the optimization, because it sets no tracking cookies and reads nothing from the visitor device for tracking purposes. You can therefore keep ShortPixel active without gating it behind a consent management platform. If you enable the Adaptive Images CDN, simply mention the CDN and its IP processing in your privacy notice for transparency. This makes ShortPixel one of the easier plugins to deploy in a privacy first setup.
The company and the core optimization API are EU based, which keeps the main processing inside the European Union. The optional Adaptive Images CDN, however, uses globally distributed edge nodes, so visitor IP addresses may be processed outside the EU when that feature is enabled. If you rely on the CDN, identify the underlying provider and ensure that Standard Contractual Clauses are in place where transfers occur. If you prefer to avoid any transfer, you can leave the CDN disabled and use only the EU optimization API.
Record ShortPixel in your records of processing as an EU based image optimization provider acting as a processor for the image files. Decide whether you need the Adaptive Images CDN, and if so document the provider and the Standard Contractual Clauses, then mention the IP processing in your privacy notice. Confirm that no tracking cookies are introduced by the plugin in your cookie scan. Because the risk is low and the company is EU based, ShortPixel is a strong privacy first choice that needs only light documentation.
Websites using ShortPixel Image Optimizer must obtain user consent under GDPR regulations.
DPIA considerations
A full data protection impact assessment is usually not required for the core service, since it processes image files and account API keys rather than visitor behaviour and sets no tracking cookies. The main point to review is the optional Adaptive Images CDN, whose global edge nodes may process visitor IP addresses outside the EU. Document the CDN provider, confirm Standard Contractual Clauses where applicable, and record retention.
Sample consent text
ShortPixel optimises the images on this site to improve loading speed. The optimization is processed in the European Union and sets no tracking cookies, so no consent is required for it. If the optional Adaptive Images CDN is enabled, your IP address may be processed by a global content delivery network.
Third-party domains contacted
shortpixel.comapi.shortpixel.comcdn.shortpixel.aiCookies placed
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| shortpixel cdn cache | functional | session or short lived | Functional cache mechanism of the optional Adaptive Images CDN used to deliver images efficiently, not used for tracking |
| no tracking cookie | functional | not applicable | The core ShortPixel optimization sets no visitor tracking cookies; this entry documents that absence for transparency |
ShortPixel Image Optimizer collects user analytics data — you legally need a consent banner. Try FlowConsent free.
The core image optimization sets no visitor tracking cookies. It processes image files and the account API key, not visitor behaviour. If a functional CDN cache mechanism is present through the optional Adaptive Images CDN, it serves only to deliver images efficiently and is not used to track or profile visitors.
No. Because the optimization sets no tracking cookies and reads nothing from the visitor device for tracking, article 5(3) ePrivacy consent is not triggered. You can run ShortPixel without a consent banner. Only the optional CDN involves visitor IP processing, which you should disclose for transparency.
The publisher relies on legitimate interest under article 6(1)(f) GDPR to deliver optimised images, a routine technical operation with low impact. No consent is needed because there is no terminal storage for tracking. The processing of image files makes ShortPixel a processor acting on your instructions.
The company and the core optimization API are EU based, so the main processing stays in the European Union. The optional Adaptive Images CDN uses global edge nodes that may process visitor IP addresses outside the EU. If you enable it, document the provider and ensure Standard Contractual Clauses are in place where needed.
A full data protection impact assessment is usually not required for the core service, given the low risk and the absence of tracking. The aspect worth a short review is the optional CDN and its IP processing outside the EU. Documenting that point in your records is generally sufficient.
Record ShortPixel as an EU based processor for your image files, and decide whether you need the Adaptive Images CDN. If you use the CDN, document the provider and the Standard Contractual Clauses and mention the IP processing in your privacy notice. Confirm in a cookie scan that no tracking cookies are introduced.
Other image optimization options include server side libraries that run entirely on your own infrastructure, or competing plugins with EU or non EU processing. If avoiding any external call matters most, a self hosted optimization library keeps everything in house. ShortPixel stands out because its company and core API are already EU based.
Since the optimization sets no tracking cookies, you usually do not need to add anything to the cookie table for it. If you enable the Adaptive Images CDN, note any functional cache mechanism and make clear it is not used for tracking. Mention the CDN provider and the IP processing in the privacy notice for transparency.