WASHINGTON D.C. — The National Design Studio removed commercial visitor-tracking software from its websites on or before June 4, 2026. This action followed the operation of several federal-appearing sites without required public filings.

The National Design Studio was established by a Donald Trump executive order on August 21, 2025. It operates websites including ndstudio.gov, trumprx.gov, realfood.gov, and trumpaccounts.gov. Analysis of the source code for at least two of these sites revealed the installation of PostHog, a commercial tracking tool.

These websites did not carry the public filings mandated by the Privacy Act of 1974 and the E-Government Act of 2002. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency public ownership records list the executive office of the president as the registrant for the National Design Studio’s sites. The studio is designated as a temporary organization within the executive office of the president.

White House spokesperson Liz Huston stated on June 17, 2026, that all National Design Studio personnel comply with all legal requirements. However, John Davisson, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, stated that the studio’s approach risked creating a second version of the federal government with tracking technologies outside of normal federal privacy laws.

The National Design Studio built a passport-application portal that functions separately from the existing State Department site. It also created a copy of the federal voter-registration site vote.gov and a copy of Login.gov. Joe Gebbia serves as the chief design officer for the National Design Studio, which is largely staffed by veterans of the Department of Government Efficiency. Gebbia worked at the Department of Government Efficiency for approximately six months in the first half of 2025. The National Design Studio unveiled the TrumpRx drug discount site on February 5, 2026.

Why It Matters

The National Design Studio's operation of websites with commercial tracking software without required privacy filings raises questions regarding adherence to federal privacy regulations. The action to remove the tracking software addresses non-compliance identified by privacy advocates. The establishment of separate portals for government services, like passport applications and voter registration, indicates a parallel development strategy for federal digital infrastructure.