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GitHub Copilot vs Hugging Face: Privacy Priorities Unveiled

Discover how US-based GitHub Copilot and France's Hugging Face differ on data privacy and security. Make informed choices today.

Last updated: February 1, 2026Reviewed by Built in EU Team

Should You Switch to Hugging Face?

What You Gain

Gain full GDPR compliance and data protection without Cloud Act exposure.

Privacy advantage
Trade-offs

Loss of advanced features and integrations available in Copilot.

GitHub Copilot has more features
Bottom Line

Switch if privacy is your priority; stay with Copilot for features.

At a Glance

Data Location
🇺🇸US

US data laws

🇫🇷FR

GDPR protected

Pricing

GitHub Copilot

paid

Hugging Face

freemium

Migration
Medium difficulty~1-2 hours

Privacy & Compliance Comparison

Critical data sovereignty factors at a glance

CriteriaGitHub CopilotHugging Face
Server Location
US (Azure), EU (optional)EU
GDPR Compliance
Partial (SCCs)Full
Open Source
E2E Encryption
Enterprise onlyOptional
Data Portability
PartialFull export

CLOUD Act Notice

GitHub Copilot is a US company and must comply with CLOUD Act data requests, even for data stored in EU data centers. Hugging Face is not subject to US jurisdiction.

Switching from
GitHub Copilot logo

GitHub Copilot

🇺🇸

GitHub/Microsoft

VS
Switching to
Hugging Face logo

Hugging Face

🇫🇷

Hugging Face

US Data Storage

Data subject to US CLOUD Act and may be accessed by US authorities

EU Data Protection

Data protected under GDPR with EU-only data residency

Certifications & Compliance

No certifications listed

Open Source
GDPR Compliant
EU-Based

Reasons to Switch

  • Hugging Face is fully GDPR compliant, ensuring data protection in the EU.
  • Hugging Face's models are open source, allowing for customization and transparency.
  • Data processed on Hugging Face servers remains in the EU, enhancing data sovereignty.
  • Hugging Face supports various NLP tasks, expanding beyond code completion.

Things to Consider

  • !Hugging Face may lack specific IDE integrations compared to GitHub Copilot.
  • !Learning curve for Hugging Face's API could slow initial productivity.
  • !Migration from Copilot to Hugging Face may require re-training on new tools.
Migration difficulty:
Medium
~1-2 hours

Migration Overview

Full guide
Difficulty
Medium
Time Estimate
~1-2 hours

Depends on data size and complexity

Quick Steps

1

Create Hugging Face account and configure settings

2

Export and prepare data from GitHub Copilot

3

Import data, test integrations, and migrate users

Ready to make the switch?

Start using Hugging Face today and take control of your data privacy.