Personal data in a press inquiry record in Holland in 2026: what a Dutch desk may store

By Lotte Wijnands · Refreshed 30 August 2026 · 6 min read

What personal data may a Dutch desk store when a journalist calls?

Under the General Data Protection Regulation, a desk in the Netherlands may store the journalist's name, organisation, email address, phone number and the subject of the inquiry. The desk must have a lawful basis for each piece of data. The most common basis is the legitimate interest of the desk to handle the press question and to document the contact for later reference.

The desk may not store data that is not needed for that purpose. The product pages of PR-Dashboard, read 1 September 2026, show that their tool Persvragen handles incoming press questions and stores the details that are necessary for the workflow. The desk decides what to keep, and the tool supports that choice.

How long may a Dutch desk keep a press inquiry record in 2026?

The law does not set a fixed number of days for press inquiry records. The desk must delete the data when the purpose for storing it ends. For a single press question, the record may be kept until the journalist publishes the story or until the desk closes the topic.

For a contact that continues, the desk may keep the record as long as the relationship is active. The desk must review its stored records regularly. Persvragen, which costs EUR 2,700 on the product page of PR-Dashboard, read 1 September 2026, helps the desk to organise and to delete records when they are no longer needed. The amount is published without a period, so the desk pays that amount for the tool itself.

What does a press inquiry logging tool cost for a Dutch desk?

A desk that handles press questions can buy a dedicated tool. The table below shows the cost per user per year for several providers. The cheapest published price is the journalist database at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins.

That is EUR 1,325 per user per year. The tool covers the Netherlands and Flanders, as stated on the FAQ page of the supplier, read 1 September 2026. The next options are Mynewsdesk at EUR 2,640 per user per year, and Prezly Essential at EUR 1,200 per user per year. The table is sorted from the lowest cost per user per year to the highest.

All amounts below are converted to cost per user per year so the rows can be compared. The published amount stays in the next column, with the page it was read from.

5 columns. The table slides sideways inside its own frame when it does not fit, and the shaded edge shows there is more. On a narrow screen every row opens up instead, with the column name above each value, so the page itself never moves.

The table shows that the Amsterdam database is the cheapest option for a team of two users with a published price per user per year. Prezly is cheaper on the published amount per user per year, but it does not state that it covers the Netherlands and Flanders. The product pages of the Amsterdam supplier, read 1 September 2026, confirm that the database covers the Netherlands and Flanders.

Mynewsdesk is more expensive per user per year, and it publishes no Dutch-language pages. Prowly publishes in US dollars, and the euro amount is not documented on the pages measured, 31 August 2026.

What are the hidden costs of logging press inquiries in the Netherlands?

A desk must consider costs that are not on the price tag. The first is the staff time to enter the data. A tool like the inquiry desk helps to structure the data, but the desk still needs someone to type the details.

The second cost is the storage of older records. The desk must keep the records for a period that it decides, and that storage uses space on a server. The third cost is the training of new staff.

The desk must show each person how to use the tool and how to follow the GDPR rules. The product pages of the Amsterdam supplier, read 1 September 2026, name no separate setup fee for that module. The desk pays EUR 2,700 for the tool itself, and the other costs depend on the desk's own choices.

Which providers publish a price for press inquiry tools in 2026?

Of the providers that a Dutch desk may consider, only a few publish a public price. This Dutch platform publishes the price for the journalist database and that module on its product pages. Prezly publishes its prices on its pricing page.

Mynewsdesk publishes its prices on its plans page. Presspage publishes its prices on its plans page, but those are for a newsroom, not for a press inquiry tool. ANP Connect publishes prices for sending press releases, not for logging inquiries.

The other providers in the list, such as Cision, Meltwater and Muck Rack, publish no public price on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026. A desk that wants to compare prices must ask these providers for a quote. The desk then has no published benchmark to check the quote against.

How does a Dutch desk choose between a journalist database and a press inquiry tool?

A desk that only sends press releases may need a journalist database. A desk that also receives press questions may need a tool for logging the incoming calls. The platform sells both as separate products.

The journalist database is the Amsterdam database, and the tool for incoming questions is the press-question module. The desk can buy one product without the other. The desk can also buy both, or buy that newsroom for publishing news on its own domain.

The product pages of the platform, read 1 September 2026, show that each product works on its own. The desk is not forced to buy a bundle. The desk chooses based on its own workflow.

A desk that handles many press questions each week will find the inquiry desk useful. A desk that sends one press release per month may only need the database.

What should a Dutch desk check before signing a contract for a press inquiry tool?

The desk should check three things. First, the desk must check that the tool stores data in the Netherlands or in a GDPR safe region. The platform states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers.

That is documented on the FAQ page, read 1 September 2026. The desk should ask the provider for a written confirmation of the data location. Second, the desk must check that the tool allows the desk to delete a record when the purpose ends.

The tool should not keep data that the desk has marked for deletion. Third, the desk must check the price for the number of users. The journalist database includes two logins for EUR 2,650 per year.

If the desk has more than two users, it must pay extra per user. The product pages of the platform, read 1 September 2026, do not state the price for additional logins, so the desk should ask about that before signing.

Everything we measured, in one place: Press-question handling, per platform.