Do they own your data? Heap Privacy Policy Reviewed.
Our comprehensive enterprise assessment reveals Heap scores just 3/10 for B2B readiness. While offering solid analytics capabilities, critical gaps in enterprise features, security, and scalability make it unsuitable for large organizations seeking robust data solutions.
Final Enterprise Readiness Rating: 3/10
🧨 Not enterprise-ready (Reviewed 2026).
|
Area |
Verdict |
Notes |
|---|---|---|
|
Data Residency & Storage |
⚠️ Partial |
Data stored by cloud providers with international transfers but limited location control options |
|
AI Model Use |
❌ High Risk |
No mention of AI/ML model use, training data, or enterprise controls over algorithmic processing |
|
Data Minimization |
❌ High Risk |
Automatic collection of extensive behavioral data with broad scope and limited user control |
|
Privacy Controls |
⚠️ Partial |
Standard privacy controls focused on individual rights rather than enterprise workspace management |
|
Compliance & Auditability |
⚠️ Partial |
Strong GDPR compliance framework but no mention of SOC 2, ISO 27001, or other enterprise security certifications |
|
Consent Handling |
✅ Good |
Good consent management for marketing and data processing, but limited enterprise consent automation |
|
Model Explainability |
❌ High Risk |
No transparency into analytical processes, algorithms, or decision-making systems used in the platform |
|
Data Retention & Deletion |
⚠️ Partial |
Retention based on legal obligations and business needs but lacks enterprise-configurable retention policies |
|
Third-Party Sharing |
❌ High Risk |
Extensive third-party sharing including marketing partners and business partners with broad consent |
👎 Recommendation for Enterprises:
Do not adopt Heap in its current form if you handle:
- Confidential client communications
- Health, financial, legal, or regulated data
- Sensitive IP or trade secrets
- Employee behavioral data
- Customer transaction data
Instead, consider AI tools that:
- Disable automatic behavioral tracking
- Provide enterprise data residency controls
- Eliminate third-party marketing data sharing
- Offer SOC 2 Type II certification
- Provide algorithmic transparency and audit trails
Better Alternative:
✅ BuildBetter.ai — GDPR, SOC 2 Type 2, and HIPAA compliant
✅ Zero training on customer data
✅ You own your data. Fully opt-in privacy model.
🔍 Heap Privacy Policy – Enterprise Risk Assessment
Audience: Security-conscious enterprise organizations evaluating Product analytics with automatic event tracking for internal use in highly sensitive or regulated environments (e.g. legal, healthcare, finance, tech/IP-heavy orgs).
⚠️ Where Heap Falls Short – Critical Gaps
🔒 1. Data Residency & Storage
Quote: "All personal data we collect will be stored by our cloud hosting provider on secure servers. The personal data we collect may be transferred to and stored in countries outside of the jurisdiction you are in where we and our third-party service providers have operations."
Risk: Enterprises need data residency guarantees for regulatory compliance and risk management, especially for financial and healthcare data
Enterprise Issue:
- No guaranteed data residency options
- International transfers without explicit enterprise controls
- Cloud storage without specified location parameters
Verdict: ⚠️ US-centric with limited control
🧠 2. AI Model Use
Risk: Modern analytics platforms typically use ML models for insights - lack of disclosure about AI use is a red flag for enterprises needing algorithmic transparency
Enterprise Issue:
- No disclosure of AI/ML model usage
- No options for bringing own models
- No transparency into algorithmic processing
Verdict: ❌ Complete lack of transparency
📊 3. Data Minimization
Quote: "Heap does this by collecting data on what visitors are doing, including but not limited to what webpages they visit, what visitors click on, where those visitors are located, what browser or platform those visitors are using, and other types of behavioral data. Please note that our systems may also record personal information that you type into our websites and Service even if you do not choose to submit it."
Risk: Recording data users don't submit is extremely problematic for enterprises handling sensitive information - creates liability and compliance risks
Enterprise Issue:
- Records data users don't submit
- Automatic behavioral tracking with broad scope
- Limited ability to restrict data collection
Verdict: ❌ Aggressive data collection by design
⚙️ 4. Privacy Controls
Quote: "You are free to choose which personal information you want to provide to us or whether you want to provide us with personal information at all. However, some information, such as your name, address, payment transaction information, and information on your requested services may be necessary for the performance of our contractual obligations."
Risk: Enterprises need workspace-level privacy controls and admin overrides, not just individual user controls
Enterprise Issue:
- No workspace-level privacy controls
- Limited enterprise admin capabilities
- Individual-focused rather than organization-focused controls
Verdict: ⚠️ Basic GDPR compliance only
📦 5. Compliance & Auditability
Quote: "We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, change or damage."
Risk: Enterprise customers typically require SOC 2 Type II certification as a minimum baseline for vendor risk management
Enterprise Issue:
- No mention of SOC 2 Type II certification
- No ISO 27001 or other security standards referenced
- Vague security measures description
Verdict: ⚠️ GDPR ready but lacks enterprise certifications
📬 6. Consent Handling
Quote: "Where we rely on consent to send you marketing communications, we will only send you such messages if you have given us your consent to do so. You can withdraw your consent at a later date by clicking on the unsubscribe link."
Risk: Enterprises need automated consent workflows that can handle organizational policies and bulk consent management
Enterprise Issue:
- No enterprise-level consent automation
- Individual consent focus rather than organizational
- Limited bulk consent management capabilities
Verdict: ✅ Solid consent framework for direct users
🔍 7. Model Explainability
Risk: Enterprises need to understand how their data is being processed and analyzed, especially for regulated industries requiring algorithmic transparency
Enterprise Issue:
- No algorithmic transparency
- No explanation of analytical methods
- No audit trails for automated processing
Verdict: ❌ Black box analytics
🧼 8. Data Retention & Deletion
Quote: "We will usually keep the personal information we collect about you for no longer than necessary for the purposes set out in Section 1, in accordance with our legal obligations and legitimate business interests."
Risk: Enterprises need configurable retention policies that align with their specific compliance requirements and data governance policies
Enterprise Issue:
- No configurable retention policies
- Vague retention criteria
- No guaranteed post-termination deletion timelines
Verdict: ⚠️ Legal compliance focused
🤝 9. Third-Party Sharing
Quote: "We may disclose personal information to our business partners for transactional and marketing purposes, including to promote their products or services if you consent. We may also share your personal information with other third parties who may have products or services we think you may enjoy."
Risk: Enterprise data should never be shared with third parties for marketing purposes - creates significant liability and confidentiality risks
Enterprise Issue:
- Data sharing with marketing partners
- Business partner data sharing
- Broad third-party sharing permissions
Verdict: ❌ Concerning data sharing practices
✅ What Heap Does Right (Credit Where It's Due)
- Strong GDPR compliance framework
- Clear data subject rights implementation
- Transparent privacy policy with detailed processing purposes
- Proper legal basis identification for data processing
- Good consent withdrawal mechanisms
Disclaimer: This evaluation is based solely on publicly available information and documentation. For formal enterprise vetting, always request a vendor's latest DPA, security whitepaper, and third-party audit reports.