GDPR Compliance

Complete GDPR Compliance Guide

Comprehensive guide to using Customer History in compliance with GDPR and other privacy regulations.

GDPR Overview

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is EU law that governs data protection and privacy. Key principles:

• Lawfulness, fairness, transparency: Clear about data collection
• Purpose limitation: Only collect what you need
• Data minimization: Collect minimum necessary data
• Accuracy: Keep data accurate and up to date
• Storage limitation: Don’t keep data forever
• Integrity and confidentiality: Keep data secure
• Accountability: You’re responsible for compliance

Customer History & GDPR

Legal Basis for Processing

GDPR requires a legal basis for processing personal data. Options:

1. Legitimate Interest (Most Common)

• Use case: Analytics, fraud prevention, site improvement
• Requirements: Balance your interests against user rights
• Customer History: Analytics and business optimization qualify
• Documentation: Must document legitimate interest assessment

2. Consent

• Use case: Marketing emails, non-essential tracking
• Requirements: Must be freely given, specific, informed, unambiguous
• Customer History: Built-in consent management
• Withdrawing: Users must be able to revoke easily

3. Contract

• Use case: Processing necessary to fulfill orders
• Requirements: Must be necessary for contract
• Customer History: Order tracking qualifies

4. Legal Obligation

• Use case: Tax records, legal requirements
• Requirements: Required by law

Implementing Consent Management

If you choose consent as legal basis:

Cookie Consent Banner

1. Install cookie consent plugin:
   • CookieYes
   • Complianz
   • Cookie Notice
2. Configure banner to include analytics cookies
3. Customer History respects consent decision
4. Tracking disabled until consent given

Customer History Settings

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → Consent
2. Enable Require Consent
3. Choose consent method:
   • Cookie plugin integration
   • Built-in consent banner
   • Custom JavaScript
4. Customize consent message
5. Save settings

Consent Documentation

• Customer History logs when consent was given
• Stores consent timestamp
• Records consent version
• Tracks consent withdrawals

Privacy Policy Requirements

Your privacy policy must disclose:

What Data You Collect

• Browsing behavior
• Product views
• Search queries
• Device information
• Location data (if collected)
• Purchase history

Why You Collect It

• Improve customer experience
• Personalize recommendations
• Optimize store performance
• Fulfill orders
• Send relevant communications

How Long You Keep It

• Session data retention period
• Customer profile retention
• Analytics data retention

Who Has Access

• Store administrators
• Shop managers
• No third-party sharing (data stays on your server)

User Rights

• Right to access their data
• Right to rectification
• Right to erasure
• Right to data portability
• Right to object

Sample Privacy Policy Text

IP Anonymization

Reduce data collection by anonymizing IP addresses:

Configuration

1. Go to Settings → Privacy → IP Anonymization
2. Choose level:
   • None: Store full IP (192.168.1.100)
   • Partial: Mask last octet (192.168.1.XXX)
   • Full: Don’t store IP at all
3. Save settings

Recommendation

• EU customers: Use partial or full anonymization
• Fraud prevention: Partial anonymization maintains some usefulness
• Maximum privacy: Full anonymization

Data Subject Rights

How to handle GDPR data requests:

Right of Access (Article 15)

Request: “Show me what data you have about me”

How to comply:

1. Find customer in Customer History
2. Click Export Customer Data
3. Download complete data package
4. Send to customer within 30 days

Right to Rectification (Article 16)

Request: “My data is incorrect, please fix it”

How to comply:

1. Open customer profile
2. Edit customer information
3. Update incorrect data
4. Save changes
5. Confirm correction with customer

Right to Erasure (Article 17)

Request: “Delete all my data”

How to comply:

1. Open customer profile
2. Click Delete Customer Data
3. Select what to delete:
   • Sessions only
   • All tracking data
   • Complete removal
4. Confirm deletion
5. Note: WooCommerce order data handled separately

Right to Data Portability (Article 20)

Request: “Give me my data in a format I can use elsewhere”

How to comply:

1. Export customer data
2. Choose machine-readable format (JSON or XML)
3. Provide to customer

Right to Object (Article 21)

Request: “Stop tracking me”

How to comply:

1. Add customer to exclusion list
2. Settings → Privacy → Excluded Users
3. Enter customer email or user ID
4. Save
5. No future tracking for this customer

Data Retention Settings

Comply with storage limitation principle:

Configure Retention

1. Go to Settings → Data Management
2. Set retention periods:
   • Session data: 30, 60, 90 days, or custom
   • Search history: 90, 180, 365 days
   • Analytics data: Archive after 1 year
3. Enable automatic cleanup
4. Save settings

Recommended Periods

• Session data: 90 days (covers return visitors)
• Customer profiles: Retain until deletion requested
• Analytics: Aggregate after 1 year, delete raw data

WordPress Privacy Tools Integration

Customer History integrates with WordPress privacy features:

Personal Data Export

1. Go to Tools → Export Personal Data
2. Enter customer email
3. Click Send Request
4. WordPress emails customer with download link
5. Export includes Customer History data

Personal Data Erasure

1. Go to Tools → Erase Personal Data
2. Enter customer email
3. Click Send Request
4. Confirm erasure after customer approval
5. Customer History data deleted

Audit Logs

Maintain compliance records:

• Customer History logs all data access
• Records export requests
• Logs deletion requests
• Tracks consent changes
• View in Settings → Privacy → Audit Log

Data Processing Agreement

Security Measures

Protecting data (Article 32):

• Access control: Only admins and shop managers
• Database security: Uses WordPress security
• No external transmission: Data stays on your server
• Regular updates: Security patches provided
• Your responsibility: Keep WordPress, plugins, and server secure

GDPR Compliance Checklist

1. ☐ Update privacy policy to mention tracking
2. ☐ Determine legal basis for processing
3. ☐ Implement consent banner (if using consent)
4. ☐ Enable IP anonymization (recommended)
5. ☐ Set data retention periods
6. ☐ Test data export functionality
7. ☐ Test data deletion functionality
8. ☐ Document legitimate interest assessment (if applicable)
9. ☐ Train staff on handling data requests
10. ☐ Create process for responding to requests within 30 days
11. ☐ Review and update annually

Other Privacy Laws

Customer History helps with:

CCPA (California)

• Right to know what data collected
• Right to deletion
• Right to opt-out
• Same tools as GDPR apply

LGPD (Brazil)

• Similar to GDPR
• Same compliance features work

PIPEDA (Canada)

• Consent and access rights
• Tools provided for compliance

Getting Legal Advice