AWS · AWS Privacy Notice · View original document ↗

Controller vs. Processor Distinction

High severity Rare · 2 of 325 platforms
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Recent governance activity AWS recorded 2 documented changes in the last 30 days.
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This analysis describes what AWS's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology

ConductAtlas Analysis

Why it matters (compliance & governance perspective)

This clause clarifies the data protection framework by delineating AWS's role as a processor rather than controller for customer data stored on AWS infrastructure. It specifies that responsibility for data protection compliance and privacy disclosures transfers to the business customer in their capacity as controller.

Consumer impact (what this means for users)

Business customers using AWS Services to store or process data operate under their own privacy notices rather than AWS's Privacy Notice. This allocation establishes the customer as the party responsible for privacy compliance and disclosure obligations regarding data stored on AWS infrastructure.

How other platforms handle this

Smartsheet Medium

When we provide the Service to our customers, we act as a data processor on behalf of those customers. Our customers are the data controllers, meaning that they determine the purposes and means of the processing of personal data that is submitted into the Service. If you are an end user of a custome...

LinkedIn Medium

If you are in the 'Designated Countries', LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company ('LinkedIn Ireland') will be the controller of your personal data provided to, or collected by or for, or processed in connection with our Services. If you are outside of the Designated Countries, LinkedIn Corporation will ...

Anthropic Medium

This Privacy Policy does not apply where Anthropic acts as a data processor and processes personal data on behalf of commercial customers using Anthropic's Commercial Services – for example, your employer has provisioned you a Claude for Work account, or you're using an app that is powered on the ba...

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▸ View Original Clause Language DOCUMENT RECORD
"
This Privacy Notice does not apply to personal information we process on behalf of our business customers when they use our Services (for example, when an AWS customer uses Amazon S3 to store their data). In those cases, our business customer is the data controller, and our business customer's privacy notice (not this one) applies to the processing of personal information in their Services.

— Excerpt from AWS's AWS Privacy Notice

Applicable regulations

CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
GDPR
European Union

Provision details

Document information
Document
AWS Privacy Notice
Entity
AWS
Document last updated
May 5, 2026
Tracking information
First tracked
May 7, 2026
Last verified
May 10, 2026
Record ID
CA-P-005588
Document ID
CA-D-00649
Evidence Provenance
Source URL
Wayback Machine
Content hash (SHA-256)
56db19656bcfe04e01d638ef57e34e27832e48cd46492abe0cac4eb4a655047a
Analysis generated
May 7, 2026 21:45 UTC
Methodology
Evidence
✓ Snapshot stored   ✓ Hash verified
Citation Record
Entity: AWS
Document: AWS Privacy Notice
Record ID: CA-P-005588
Captured: 2026-05-07 21:45:26 UTC
SHA-256: 56db19656bcfe04e…
URL: https://conductatlas.com/platform/aws/aws-privacy-notice/controller-vs-processor-distinction/
Accessed: May 20, 2026
Permanent archival reference. Stable identifier suitable for legal filings, compliance documentation, and research citation.
Classification
Severity
High
Categories

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does AWS's Controller vs. Processor Distinction clause do?

This clause clarifies the data protection framework by delineating AWS's role as a processor rather than controller for customer data stored on AWS infrastructure. It specifies that responsibility for data protection compliance and privacy disclosures transfers to the business customer in their capacity as controller.

How does this clause affect you?

Business customers using AWS Services to store or process data operate under their own privacy notices rather than AWS's Privacy Notice. This allocation establishes the customer as the party responsible for privacy compliance and disclosure obligations regarding data stored on AWS infrastructure.

How many platforms have this type of clause?

ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 2 platforms. See the full comparison.

Is ConductAtlas affiliated with AWS?

No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by AWS.