Schufa retains outdated consumer data in shadow database for testing (heise.de)

• Schufa keeps shadow database with millions of undeleted consumer records
• Privacy experts criticize retention of historical data for testing
• Hessian data protection authority launched investigation in spring 2025

"German credit bureau Schufa maintains a shadow database containing millions of consumer records that should have been deleted under GDPR. The data, including old loans, credit cards, debts, and insolvencies, is allegedly used only for score testing. Privacy advocates criticize the practice as illegal, while Schufa invokes data accuracy requirements. The Hessian data protection authority has been investigating since spring 2025."