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How to use GDPR encryption and unsubscribe?
How to use GDPR encryption and unsubscribe?

There are 2 ways you can use GDPR encryption: manual and automatic.

Weronika Wróblewska avatar
Written by Weronika Wróblewska
Updated over a week ago

IN THIS ARTICLE

Manual GDPR encryption

  1. Go to your 'Prospects'.

  2. Select the prospects you want to be removed (encrypted).

  3. Click on the 'Actions' tab which will appear on the right-hand side.

  4. Choose 'GDPR encrypt'.

Prospects tab with the option to GDPR encrypt chosen prospect

5. Click 'Encrypt permanently'.

Window with the confirmation to encrypt permanently

6. You successfully encrypted the data!

"All done!" information after encrypting

You'll see that the status of the GDPR-encrypted prospects will change to OPT-OUT – that's the sign their data was erased from our database. This way, Woodpecker helps you avoid contacting these prospects ever again.


Managing GDPR-encrypted prospects

After your prospects have been GDPR-encrypted, you can see them in the Prospects database.

At the top of the table, there's a checkbox "Encrypted only," so it's possible to filter them out from other prospects and manage only GDPR-encrypted contacts – change their status, tag, or remove them completely from the database.

After clicking on the "Clean your prospects list" option, the ones GDPR-encrypted will fall under the search, as they have the OPT-OUT status assigned. To filter them out, check the "Encrypted only" box again.


Automatic GDPR encryption

Including the 'unsubscribe' link in the content of your message will give your prospect an easy way to opt out. Here's how to do that:

  1. Create or go to a previously added campaign and click 'Edit'.

  2. Click on the gear icon next to the name of your campaign.

  3. Look for the "GDPR compliant Unsubscribe" option and tick the box.

The option will work only if the "Unsubscribe" snippet is added to the email or account's signature.

Gif showing how to add GDPR compliant unsubscribe

What happens next?

'Unsubscribe' link redirects your prospects to a page where they are presented with 2 options:

  1. Choose to simply opt out (UNSUBSCRIBE).

  2. Unsubscribe and have their data deleted from our database (unsubscribe and delete my data).

Whichever option they choose, their status will be changed to OPT-OUT, and the tag #UNSUBSCRIBED will be added.

Screen from the Unsubscribe site with the "unsubscribe and delete my data" link

To ensure your campaign is GDPR compliant – read our guide.


FAQ

Q: How to find prospects who have unsubscribed?

A: Woodpecker adds the tag #UNSUBSCRBED and changes their status to OPT-OUT for all unsubscribed prospects. Here, you can find detailed instructions on how to find them in your Woodpecker account.

Q: What happens once the data gets encrypted?

A: Neither you nor Woodpecker will be able to process that personal data after that. You won’t be able to see the data. The data won’t be stored in the Woodpecker database anymore. In your Campaign view, under the Prospects tab, you’ll only see a string of bullet points instead of the personal data you entered.

encrypted prospect in the Prospects tab in Campaign

Q: How can I know that the prospect in a campaign got encrypted?

A: Go to the Edit mode of your campaign. In the 'Prospects' section, you'll find information about the number of your prospects. The contacts whose data was encrypted won't be shown.

Information about the amount of Prospects in campaign and the number of encrypted ones

Q: How to style and adjust your 'Unsubscribe' link?

Have a look at our article here to learn how to accomplish this task.


Please note:

To ensure the unsubscribe feature will work as intended, always use the snippet 'Unsubscribe' to add the 'unsubscribe' link (in every email sequence).

Simply copying the link from the content of other emails in your campaign (even if it is a previous email in the sequence) will not work, and the prospect won't be able to unsubscribe properly.

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