Handle a customer's privacy request

Sometimes a customer asks what information you hold about them, or asks you to delete it. Your site has a few tools that help. This article says what they do. What your business must do, and by when, is a question for your lawyer.

What the law covers

California has a consumer privacy law that gives people rights over their personal information, such as asking what a business holds and asking for it to be deleted. It applies only to businesses above certain size and data-handling limits. Whether it reaches yours is for your lawyer to say.

What your site lets you do

• Tell visitors how you use information. Switch on your privacy page. See Add a privacy page to your site.
• Ask for consent on forms. Add a checkbox to a contact form. See Add a consent checkbox to a form.
• Give people a way to ask. Your contact form can be set up so visitors can send a privacy request. Tell us the wording you'd like and we'll set it up.
• Find and delete someone's form messages. The messages people send through your forms are kept in your form messages. See See and download your form messages and Delete someone's form messages when they ask.

When a request arrives

1. Write down who asked, what they asked for and the date.
2. Ask your lawyer what you need to do and how soon.
3. For form messages, find the person's messages and delete them, or email us their name and the email address they used and we'll remove them.
4. Check anywhere else you keep their details. Your email inbox, your customer lists and your Google profile are yours to look through. Your site's settings don't cover them.
5. Reply to the person in the way your lawyer advises.

Tips

• Keep your privacy page up to date. If you add a new form or tool, check that the page still describes what you do.
• Use the same email address for privacy requests everywhere you list one.

Need a hand?

Email hello@zossoz.com with your business name and the person's name and the email address they used, and we'll take care of the form messages. We reply within one business day. See Request a change.