Big news from the Mautic community: they just landed €72,000 in funding from NLnet’s NGI Zero Commons Fund to build the first-ever marketing automation platform that can run without any tracking or surveillance baked in by default. This project is a game-changer, and it’s worth paying attention to if you care about privacy and ethical marketing.
Let’s be real. Most marketing automation tools are built on a foundation of tracking and cookies. It’s so baked in that you often can’t turn it off. Mautic is flipping the script by creating a version that works just fine without setting cookies or spying on contacts. The goal? Give marketers full transparency and control over what is tracked—so you only collect what you truly need, and know exactly the privacy implications of each choice.
Over the next eight months, starting this September, the Mautic team will focus on three main things: first, making every part of Mautic run without setting a cookie unless you consciously choose otherwise. That includes forms, pixels, redirects—even those typically automatic cookies that nobody can revoke once consent is withdrawn. Second, they’re introducing granular “need-to-know” access controls so that users only see the contact data they are authorized to see. This is huge for agencies, political parties, and human rights organizations where data governance isn’t an optional extra. Third, they’re building a centralized privacy center in the UI where marketers can see and toggle every tracking setting, with clear explanations. No more hidden config files or guesswork about what the defaults do.
This isn’t just privacy theater. There’s a real, ethical push behind it. Marketing surveillance tools have contributed to eroding privacy rights globally and have even been weaponized against vulnerable groups. Mautic’s approach gives those organizations a fighting chance to do their outreach without exposing their audiences to unnecessary surveillance risks. Plus, flipping the default from “track everything” to “track nothing unless explicitly enabled” encourages marketers to think critically about what data they collect and why—a needed cultural shift in marketing, honestly.
Oh, and this privacy-first foundation also lays the groundwork for Mautic’s upcoming AI initiative. To use AI well and ethically, you need crystal-clear data controls—who can see what, what data leaves the system, and whether contacts have given consent. The privacy improvements being funded now are essential before any AI features can go live.
If you want to get involved in shaping how this all comes together, the Mautic team is doing everything in the open through their Community Portal RFC process. This is your chance to weigh in early on design and specs before a single line of code is written.
For marketers and organizations who care about data sovereignty and privacy, this project is a breath of fresh air. Finally, a marketing automation tool that respects your audience’s rights and puts control in your hands without sacrificing functionality. Keep an eye on this one—it’s not just good for privacy, it’s good for marketing that actually earns trust.
Full details and the community discussion are here: https://forum.mautic.org/t/marketing-without-surveillance-funded-by-nlnet/
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