# Google Fonts and GDPR compliance | Illia BizTech > How to check whether your site loads fonts from Google, why that became a problem after the ruling and how to host them locally. Source: https://illia-biztech.de/en/blog/google-fonts-lokal-einbinden 1. [Home](/en) 2. [Resources](/en/blog) 3. Hosting Google Fonts yourself instead of loading them remotely ![Web developer inspecting the browser network tab on a laptop screen](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/medium_google_fonts_lokal_einbinden_eadfb884b6.png) ![Portrait of Illia Belichenko, technical specialist at Illia BizTech](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/small_Illia_Belichenko_author_81f88864f0.png) By: Illia Belichenko July 6, 2026 # Hosting Google Fonts yourself instead of loading them remotely When a website links a font through an address like [fonts.googleapis.com](http://fonts.googleapis.com), the font file loads not from the site's own server but directly from a Google server. To fetch that file, the visitor's browser contacts Google itself and transmits the visitor's IP address in the process, and this happens before the visitor has clicked anything on the page. Within the European Union an IP address counts as personal data, because together with other information it can identify a specific person. Passing that IP address to a third party server therefore needs a legal basis, and the convenience of a good looking font does not count as one. On 20 January 2022 the Regional Court of Munich I, ruling on case 3 O 17493/20, awarded a website visitor 100 euro in damages under [Article 82 of the GDPR](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/DE/ALL/?uri=celex:32016R0679). The reason was that the website had transmitted the visitor's IP address to Google without consent. The court drew a line between two ways of loading a font. Dynamic loading means the file is fetched from a third party server on every single page view. Local loading means the file sits on the site's own server and no external request is made. The complaint in this case concerned the dynamic method. After the ruling, letters demanding the same 100 euro went out across Germany in large numbers, some of them apparently sent automatically without the supposed data subject ever having visited the site in question. A genuine claim is not always easy to tell apart from a mass mailing at first glance, so reacting in haste is rarely a good idea. You can check your own site in a couple of minutes without any special tools. Open the page in a browser, press F12, switch to the network tab and reload. If requests to [fonts.googleapis.com](http://fonts.googleapis.com) or [fonts.gstatic.com](http://fonts.gstatic.com) show up, fonts are loading from an outside server. Moving fonts onto your own server works like this. The font files get downloaded and placed alongside the site's other files, the stylesheet gains a font-face rule pointing at that local path, and the old line referencing Google is removed. On WordPress that line often comes from the theme or a plugin rather than from the site owner's own settings, so it is worth checking the network tab again after the change and after every theme update. Other embedded elements follow the same pattern. Maps, video players, spam protection and scripts pulled from third party content delivery networks transmit the visitor's IP address the same way whenever they are loaded directly from an outside server, before any consent has been given. If a letter has already arrived, the sensible order is to fix the underlying cause on the site first and only then assess the claim itself. Paying on the strength of the first letter and signing an enclosed cease and desist declaration without a lawyer looking at it first can end up costing more than the amount being demanded. Local fonts carry a practical side benefit too, the page no longer waits on a response from a third party domain and renders its text sooner. This text explains the technical and legal background and does not replace legal advice. Assessing a specific letter and a specific website always depends on the details of the case. **Share** [ ![Laptop screen showing a legal document on an office desk](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/medium_impressumspflicht_website_a218213257.png) Previous Post What belongs in a German website Impressum](/en/blog/impressumspflicht-website) ![Portrait of Illia Belichenko, technical specialist at Illia BizTech](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/small_Illia_Belichenko_author_81f88864f0.png) ##### Illia Belichenko Illia is responsible for the technical side of Illia BizTech: website development, website updates, forms, integrations, automation and technical support. He works on connecting websites, content, advertising and internal workflows so they work together without creating unnecessary manual work. ##### Recent Posts [![An editor working in video editing software with AI features on screen](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/medium_ki_tools_videoschnitt_vor_und_nachteile_f3a71162be.png)](/en/blog/ki-tools-videoschnitt-vor-und-nachteile) #### [What AI Editing Tools Actually Do, and What They Don't](/en/blog/ki-tools-videoschnitt-vor-und-nachteile) October 16, 2026 [](/en/blog/ki-tools-videoschnitt-vor-und-nachteile) [![A video editor reviewing a flawed shot on a monitor before deciding on a reshoot](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/medium_content_nachdrehen_oder_um_fehler_schneiden_f8735cb368.png)](/en/blog/content-nachdrehen-oder-um-fehler-schneiden) #### [When a Reshoot Pays Off and When Editing Can Save the Footage](/en/blog/content-nachdrehen-oder-um-fehler-schneiden) October 15, 2026 [](/en/blog/content-nachdrehen-oder-um-fehler-schneiden) [![A video editor selecting a cover frame for a video on a laptop screen](/_ipx/f_webp,q_75/https://cms.illia-biztech.de/uploads/medium_thumbnail_vorschaubild_video_wirkung_a1fe6c0cd9.png)](/en/blog/thumbnail-vorschaubild-video-wirkung) #### [Why the Video Thumbnail Decides Whether Anyone Clicks](/en/blog/thumbnail-vorschaubild-video-wirkung) October 14, 2026 [](/en/blog/thumbnail-vorschaubild-video-wirkung) Sites Illia BizTech builds serve fonts from their own domain rather than pulling them straight from Google's servers, and that is not a paid add on, it is part of the normal build. That removes exactly the risk a German court awarded damages for in 2022 under Article 82 of the GDPR, the visitor's IP address never leaves for a third party server when the page loads. Illia BizTech builds and maintains websites for companies in Germany in German, English, Russian and Ukrainian, from the first version through ongoing maintenance and search visibility work. One monthly plan covers the website, advertising and content, the scope is agreed in advance and can be moved between them when priorities change. The domain, hosting and ad accounts stay registered to the company, so the work can continue on the existing setup without a full rebuild. That fits businesses moving to Germany or expanding into the German-speaking market who want to explain their task once.