“Dear Mr or Ms…” – Are those days numbered? That might now be a GDPR violation.

A court in Austria (District Court of Favoriten, 39 C 273/25d) just ruled that forcing gendered salutations on customers can breach their personal rights—especially when they’ve asked for gender-neutral language. Backed by a CJEU ruling (C-394/23), the message is clear: Titles like “Mr” or “Ms” aren’t needed to do business, and might do more harm than good.

Takeaway? If your default setting is “Dear Sir/Madam,” it might be time to rethink that template.

Note: This article is intended solely as general information and does not constitute legal counsel from ATTYS 05 Rechtsanwälte GmbH. This article is not a substitute for individual legal counsel. ATTYS 05 Rechtsanwälte GmbH assumes no liability of any kind for the content or accuracy of this article.