2025 Data Privacy Trends

Executive Summary

Data privacy is evolving globally, driven by shifting political and digital landscapes and accelerated by rapid AI adoption. As consumers become increasingly aware of online privacy risks like data breaches, selling of personal data, online tracking, identity theft, and the irresponsible use of AI, stricter data privacy laws are being enacted to reflect these growing concerns.

As regulations tighten in response to these concerns, organizations are under increasing pressure not just to comply, but to prove they are handling data responsibly. Many brands face heightened scrutiny, particularly around how they manage consumer opt-out requests, with many either unaware of or sidestepping consumer requests. This has led to a surge in privacy-related litigation, especially in regions and states with strong legal protections. Looking ahead, the global conversation will likely focus on harmonizing the patchwork of state laws and fragmented regulations in each region with international privacy standards to address the complex challenges posed by emerging technologies like AI.

DataGrail's 2025 Data Privacy Trends Report sheds light on how these evolving privacy concerns are impacting organizations, offering benchmarks to track changes in privacy trends over time. This year's report reveals key trends, including the volume and types of Data Subject Requests (DSRs) received (surprise: a new trend is emerging) and the increasing cost of handling privacy requests due to manual processing (no surprise: costs continue to climb).

Highlights

• 82% Of DSRs are data deletion requests - outpacing access requests for fourth year in a row.
• Estimated cost of processing Deletion & Access requests per 5 million unique website visitors in 2024 due to manual processing: $1.26M.
• 45% Decrease in access requests from 2023 to 2024.
• 69% Of organizations fire 3 or more cookie trackers without user consent, from audit of 5k websites.
• 43% YoY cost increase for DSR management from 2023.
• 73% DSRs come from the global community—from regions not protected by privacy laws.
  • Requests come from every state and country — not just those with privacy laws protecting its citizens. Globally, 31.5% of DSRs came from countries without privacy laws. In the U.S., 46.5% of requests were made by individuals in states without privacy laws in effect.
• Increase in total DSR volume per 5M unique website visitors from 2023 to 2024.