Pro
Made to be forwarded
Security & privacy
This page answers the questions that get asked before a purchase. It is made to be forwarded — to IT, to the data protection officer and to purchasing.
Self-hosted: the data never leaves the building
PLANKA self-hosted runs on your own infrastructure. We do not see your content, we do not store it, and we are not in the processing chain at all.
- Application, PostgreSQL database and every file attachment sit entirely on your systems — in your own data centre, at the host of your choice or on an isolated network.
- Running it needs no connection to us. The only thing that travels is the licence key during a licence check — no content, no user data, no telemetry.
- For networks without internet access there is an offline licence key that asks nobody anything.
- There is no processor. You are the controller, and you are the only one.
For your questionnaire
With PLANKA self-hosted, no personal data is transmitted to PLANKA Software GmbH. Processing takes place exclusively on the controller's own systems; there is no processing on behalf of a controller under Art. 28 GDPR. PLANKA Software GmbH is a software supplier, not a recipient of personal data.
Hosted: under contract, servers in Germany
When we host for you we are the processor. That is written into a contract, not offered as an assurance.
- A data processing agreement (DPA) under Art. 28 GDPR is available to you in the customer center — including during the free trial, so before you have paid for anything.
- We do not publish the DPA publicly. It belongs to your contractual relationship and can be read and downloaded in the customer center.
- What the contract guarantees is processing inside the EU: for customers in the EU, the data does not leave it. What we actually run today is in Germany, at Hetzner, moving to netcup over the coming weeks.
- The technical and organisational measures are part of the DPA; the list of sub-processors is attached to it as an annex.
- Backups run automatically and regularly. After the contract ends you have 30 days to export; after that the data is deleted, and the backups within a further 30 days.
- We pass on neither content nor end-user data. The payment processor receives only what billing and licensing require.
For your questionnaire
For hosting by PLANKA Software GmbH there is a data processing agreement under Art. 28(3) GDPR, including the technical and organisational measures and the list of sub-processors. It is not published publicly but provided in the customer center — already during the trial period. Operations take place in data centres in Germany.
Technical measures in operation
What we do so that an access is only ever the one it claims to be — and so that a mistake does not become a loss of data.
- Encrypted transmission throughout, over TLS.
- Two-factor authentication (TOTP) for accounts in PLANKA and in the customer center.
- Single sign-on over OpenID Connect (OIDC): your identities stay in your own directory — Entra ID, Keycloak, Okta, Google and others.
- Server access by SSH key only, a firewall with nothing but the necessary ports open, fail2ban against automated login attempts.
- Access control and permission management at the operations level, on the principle of least privilege.
- Protection against SQL injection and against CSRF and XSS in the application code.
- Security updates are applied regularly and backups taken regularly. Physical security of the data centres is provided by their operator.
For your questionnaire
Technical and organisational measures under Art. 32 GDPR are in place: TLS-encrypted transmission, two-factor authentication, single sign-on over OIDC, server access by SSH key, firewall and fail2ban, access control on the principle of least privilege, regular security updates and regular backups.
Inside the application
Privacy does not stop at the server. Who may see what in PLANKA, and who may delete it, is yours to set. The controls below are part of Pro and Enterprise.
- Roles down to worker and guest: scoped access for people outside the organisation, without the whole project being open to them.
- Private projects, which for anybody not involved do not even exist.
- IP fencing: access can be confined to your own networks.
- Automatic logout on inactivity, and a list of trusted devices.
- Delete permission is configurable; users can be disabled and accounts banned — everywhere at once.
For your questionnaire
PLANKA Pro provides role-based access control including scoped worker and guest roles, private projects, IP-based access restriction, automatic logout on inactivity and configurable deletion and deactivation rights.
What happens if we are gone
The honest answer to the most uncomfortable question in purchasing: the software keeps running.
- The Community edition is published under a Fair Use License, its source code sits on GitHub for anybody to read, and the project has more than 12,000 stars there.
- Your data lives in your own PostgreSQL database — a standard format you can back up, read and migrate with standard tools.
- Export to PDF and HTML, plus an extensive REST API and webhooks: what goes in comes back out.
- A self-hosted installation does not need us in order to run. If nothing ever came from us again it would lose support and updates — not its function and not its data.
For your questionnaire
When self-hosted, PLANKA runs on the customer's own systems. The data lives in the customer's PostgreSQL database and is accessible at any time through export and the REST API; the source code of the Community edition can be read on GitHub. A self-hosted installation remains operable regardless of whether the vendor continues to exist.
Accessibility
Public-sector buyers have to ask about it. For everybody else it is a mark of quality.
- Our website is partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA and the harmonised standard EN 301 549: semantic structure, keyboard operation with visible focus, screen reader support, colour design aligned with the contrast requirements.
- This rests on a self-assessment using automated testing tools and manual spot checks. No audit under a recognised test procedure has been carried out — we say what we know and no more.
- The full accessibility statement is public — with the known limitations, a contact route for feedback and the enforcement procedure.
For your questionnaire
The website of PLANKA Software GmbH is partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA and EN 301 549, on the basis of a self-assessment. An accessibility statement naming the known limitations is published.
Anything missing?
Ask what your questionnaire asks. We answer in writing — and where we cannot do something, we say so.
