Customer support: identity verification is required before help
To protect the security and privacy of your account, Surfshark says it requires identity verification before it can assist with a customer support inquiry. It says this helps it protect your data and give you accurate and personalized support.
Supporting quotations
Surfshark requires identity verification before we can assist with your customer support inquiry.
Qualifications & exceptions
Verification comes before Surfshark assists with the inquiry.
Not stated here
What information or documents the identity verification requires is not stated.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Opting out of marketing: per address, essential emails continue, other parties may still email
If you do not want emails from Surfshark, you can opt out by contacting support@surfshark.com or clicking unsubscribe at the bottom of any correspondence. If you have several email addresses you must opt out for each address to be removed from the active database. Surfshark will still contact you for essential service delivery, to answer your inquiries and to send transactional product or service-related updates. It also notes that you may still receive information about its services from other parties who use their own mailing lists.
Supporting quotations
If you do not wish to receive emails from us, you can opt out by contacting support@surfshark.com or by clicking “unsubscribe” at the bottom of any correspondence.
If you have multiple email addresses, you will need to opt out for each address to be removed from our active database.
However, we will continue to communicate with you for essential service delivery, to address your inquiries, and to provide transactional product or service-related updates.
you may still receive information about our Services from other parties who use their own mailing lists.
Qualifications & exceptions
Opt-out is per email address.
Essential service, inquiry and transactional communications continue after opt-out.
Other parties' mailing lists are outside Surfshark's opt-out.
Not stated here
Which parties use their own mailing lists is not stated.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Privacy rights: ask by emailing support, available except as limited by law
Surfshark says it respects the GDPR, CCPA and other privacy laws, and that you can ask it to delete your personal data or exercise other rights by emailing support@surfshark.com. It says the rights described below are available "as available and except as limited under applicable law", and that it has added transparency to help users use those rights.
Supporting quotations
We respect GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy legislation, and you can ask us to delete your personal data or implement other rights by emailing us at support@surfshark.com.
You may be aware that the GDPR, CCPA, and other privacy laws give certain rights to individuals in relation to their personal data. Accordingly, we have implemented additional transparency to help users take advantage of those rights.
As available and except as limited under applicable law, individuals have the rights described below:
Qualifications & exceptions
The rights are available as available and except as limited under applicable law.
The way to exercise them is by emailing support@surfshark.com.
Not stated here
No response time or identity-verification step is stated in this section.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Right to access: get your data or a copy by contacting Surfshark
You can access your personal data or receive a copy of it by contacting Surfshark.
Supporting quotations
Right to access You can access your personal data or receive a copy of it by contacting us.
Qualifications & exceptions
Subject to the general limit that rights are available as available and except as limited under applicable law.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Right to portability: structured copy, only for consent-based automated processing
You can ask Surfshark for a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format or, where technically feasible, ask it to transmit the data directly to another controller. This applies only where its processing, carried out by automated means, is based on your consent.
Supporting quotations
Right to portability You can ask us to provide you with a copy of your personal data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format or, where it is technically feasible, to transmit that data directly to another controller. This right applies only where our processing, carried out by automated means, is based on your consent.
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies only where the processing is carried out by automated means and based on your consent.
Direct transmission to another controller is only where technically feasible.
Not stated here
The text does not say which of Surfshark's processing activities are consent-based for this right, beyond the legal basis listed per activity.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Right to rectification: correct inaccurate data and complete incomplete data
You can ask for inaccurate personal data to be corrected and, subject to the nature of the collection and use, for incomplete personal data to be completed.
Supporting quotations
Right to rectification You can ask for the correction of inaccurate personal data and, subject to the nature of the collection and use, the completion of incomplete personal data.
Qualifications & exceptions
Completion of incomplete data is subject to the nature of the collection and use.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Right to erasure: deletion of data in Clause 2, unless legally required or another legal basis
You have the right to deletion of your personal data specified in Clause 2, unless Surfshark is legally required, or has a legal basis, to maintain certain personal data.
Supporting quotations
Right to erasure Right to deletion of your personal data specified in Clause 2, unless we are legally required or we have a legal basis to maintain certain personal data.
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies to personal data specified in Clause 2 (the section describing what is collected).
Does not apply to data Surfshark is legally required or has a legal basis to keep, for example the 10-year payment record retention described in section 2.3.14.
Not stated here
Which data Surfshark treats as covered by a legal basis to keep is not listed in this section.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Right to withdraw consent at any time, with no effect on earlier processing
If Surfshark collected and processed your personal data with your consent, you can withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing does not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal, or processing based on lawful grounds other than consent.
Supporting quotations
Right to withdraw consent If we have collected and processed your personal data with your consent, then you can withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal data conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies to processing based on consent.
Earlier processing and processing under other lawful grounds are unaffected.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests
You can object to Surfshark processing your personal data when it does so based on its legitimate interests.
Supporting quotations
Right to object You can object to us processing your personal data when we do so based on our legitimate interests.
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies only to processing based on legitimate interests.
Not stated here
The text does not say what happens after an objection.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
Additional rights for individuals covered by the CCPA
In addition to the rights above, further rights, which may be subject to certain exemptions or derogations, also apply to individuals covered by the CCPA.
Supporting quotations
In addition to the above rights, the following rights (which may be subject to certain exemptions or derogations) shall also apply to individuals covered by the CCPA:
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies to individuals covered by the CCPA and may be subject to exemptions or derogations.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
CCPA non-discrimination for exercising privacy rights
Under the CCPA you have the right not to receive discriminatory treatment if and when you exercise your privacy rights.
Supporting quotations
Right to Non-Discrimination You have the right to not receive discriminatory treatment if and when you exercise your privacy rights under the CCPA.
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies to individuals covered by the CCPA.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
CCPA right to limit sensitive information; Surfshark says it does not trigger this right
Under the CCPA you have the right to limit the use of your sensitive personal information when its use goes beyond what is necessary to provide the services or certain other permissible purposes such as fraud prevention. Surfshark says it does not process personal information in a manner that gives rise to this right.
Supporting quotations
Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information. You have the right to limit the use of your sensitive personal information when such use goes beyond that which is necessary for providing the Services or certain other permissible purposes (e.g., fraud prevention). However, Surfshark does not process personal information in a manner that gives rise to this right.
Qualifications & exceptions
Applies to individuals covered by the CCPA.
The statement that no processing gives rise to this right is Surfshark's own.
Not stated here
The text does not say how that statement fits with the Alert service, which can retain personal identity or social security numbers and credit card numbers you submit.
Cross-references
contrast (model-proposed): Alert service: email, ID or card numbers you submit are kept, with some encrypted — contrast: Surfshark says it does not process personal information in a way that triggers the right to limit use of sensitive personal information, while the Alert service lets you submit a social security number or credit card number, which Surfshark retains (encrypted). The policy does not explain how these fit together.
Account & Service Control · Procedure
Contact: 24/7 support by email or website chat
Surfshark says its 24/7 Customer Support Team will help as soon as it can. For questions, concerns or complaints about the policy or its services, or to exercise your privacy rights, you can email support@surfshark.com or chat with Surfshark on the website.
Supporting quotations
Our 24/7 Customer Support Team will help you out as soon as they can.
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints relating to this Privacy Policy and / or Surfshark Services, or you would like to exercise your privacy rights, please feel free to contact us at the following email address support@surfshark.com or chat with us on the Website.
Qualifications & exceptions
The 24/7 availability is stated for the Customer Support Team; the response time is "as soon as they can".
Not stated here
No response deadline is stated.
Account & Service Control · User right or choice
You can challenge a solely automated decision and ask for human review
If a decision based solely on automated processing produces legal consequences for you or otherwise significantly affects you, you keep the right to challenge it, express your viewpoint and request human involvement. You do this by contacting support@surfshark.com. Surfshark says it will assess your request and provide a human examination of the decision.
Supporting quotations
In instances where a decision based solely on automated processing produces legal consequences for you, or otherwise significantly affects you, you retain the right to challenge the decision, express your viewpoint, and request human involvement.
You can achieve this by contacting us at support@surfshark.com. We will assess your request and provide a human examination of the decision
Qualifications & exceptions
The right applies where a decision based solely on automated processing has legal consequences or otherwise significantly affects you.
You exercise it by contacting support@surfshark.com.
Not stated here
No response time is stated.
The text does not say whether the discount decisions described above fall in the category that significantly affects you.