As the May 25th GDPR deadline looms, many of our customers are looking to our new Opt-In Manager to help them be compliant with GDPR. While it's important to note that no single tool will guarantee compliance with such an encompassing legislation, the Opt-in Manager can certainly help Act! users save time and money in harvesting consent from their customers and prospects.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following are a list of frequently asked questions about the Opt-In Manager.
- Is the Op-in manager a one-time purchase or a subscription?
Opt-In Manager is an annual subscription. - How is it licensed? Per activation or per user?
All our new subscription licensing is based on a per user/database system. In other words, if you have one user who needs to install it on several machines, only one license is needed. If, however, more than one user needs to use it, or if the application is needed to be run on multiple database (databases that sync with each other are considered one database), then extra licensing will be needed for those additional users and/or databases. - How is it different than our similar product introduced in 2014 called Act4CASL.
Opt-In Manager allows you to edit your email template, generate unique contact links for Opt-ins, includes additional delivery options, and has better support for browser based emails services. - Isn't the opt-in request email a violation of GDPR?
To be 100% safe, we strongly recommend users send the recipients these opt-in requests before May 25th. That said, emails requesting such permission, provided it doesn't include any advertising, is generally deemed as an attempt at compliance. These emails must not be promoting other products or services while making such a request. As we're not lawyers, we encourage everyone to seek independent legal advice on the matter. - Do I still need an email service provider if I use Opt-In Manager?
Yes, Opt-In Manager needs to be configured with your email settings in order to deliver the email. Services like SendGrid and others can offer an alternative. As Opt-In Manager was designed to deliver to your "Lookups" in Act!, we encourage you to send out your opt-in requests in smaller batches. - Do I need Opt-In Manager if a customers gives me verbal permission to email?
Absolutely. GDPR puts the burden of proof on the sender to establish they have consent. Recording verbal consent will obviously be weak in the face of a complaint from someone that provided such permission. Opt-In Manager records the date, time, and the unique transaction code of the consent. Unlike our previous Act4CASL tool, Opt-In Manager does NOT record the IP address of those providing it. - Isn't it enough that I provide an opt-out option with my emails?
No, the opt-out option is a provision of the CANSPAM Act of 2003 in the United States. GDPR and CASL requires an opt-in permission from your recipients. - My contact has done business with us, and requested information from our business in the past, surely that constitutes "consent"?
Perhaps not, as that is considered "implied" consent, which has fixed durations depending on how the implied consent was provided. GDPR is much more restrictive than CASL, and covers a wider range of privacy issues, so it's safe to say that if such "implied" consent is insufficient for CASL, it won't jive with GDPR.
