Notices, languages and proof
Which languages the notice is shown in, when visitors are asked again, how consent is proven and what is stored about a person.
Short answers about the notice visitors see and the proof you keep. Each one links to the page that explains it.
Languages#
Which languages can the notice be shown in?#
The banner has built-in labels and starter wording for English, all 22 languages of the Eighth Schedule, such as Hindi and Urdu, and other widely used languages.
You write or translate your own wording for each language you want. For a language that is not listed, you type its code.
More: Add a language.
Do visitors see a translation as soon as it is drafted?#
No. A translation service can draft the empty fields for you. Treat machine translations and the starter wording as drafts, and have someone who reads the language check them.
Your wording in a language other than the form's default reaches visitors only after a person approves it under Languages and you publish. Languages that are not approved are left out of the published version.
More: Translate and approve a language.
How does a visitor get their language?#
The banner looks at three things, in this order:
- a language your site passes in, if your developers set one
- the language the visitor picked earlier in the language chooser
- the browser's language
The form is shown in that language if it is published in it. A language with a region, such as hi-IN, is shown as the language itself, here Hindi. If neither is published, the visitor sees the default language.
More: Add a language.
When does the banner show a language chooser?#
Where a region rule under the DPDP law applies, the banner shows a language chooser with every language the form is published in. It appears when there is more than one language. Under any other rule there is no chooser, and visitors see the language that matches their browser.
More: Add a language.
Choices#
Can visitors choose partners one by one?#
Yes. List the partners under each purpose. Check that Let visitors choose partners one by one is on in the form's settings, then publish.
The preference centre then shows a switch for every partner under its purpose. Accepting or rejecting all sets every partner at once.
More: Add partners.
Asking again#
What happens when our purposes change?#
Nothing changes for visitors until you publish a new version of the form. When you do, you choose one of three options:
- Ask again only if something material changed (recommended): the product compares the new version with the last one and decides
- Ask everyone again: every returning visitor sees the banner again
- Keep their answers — wording fix only: nobody is asked again
More: Ask visitors again.
Which changes count as material?#
A change is material when the new version:
- adds a purpose that people can decline
- adds a partner
- moves a purpose to a different category
- changes the legal basis of a purpose
- stops a purpose being always on
- lets a decision on a purpose last longer
Rewording a sentence or removing a purpose is not material. Adding to the Data used of a purpose is not detected, so choose Ask everyone again for that.
More: Ask visitors again.
What does a returning visitor see?#
A visitor whose answer stands sees nothing. A visitor who is asked again sees the banner come back with a note of what changed. Their earlier answer stays in the record's history.
More: Ask visitors again.
Does a consent expire?#
Yes. Each form has the setting How long a decision stays valid: 90 days, 6 months, 12 months or 24 months. A new form starts at 12 months. A purpose with a shorter life of its own expires sooner. A visitor is asked again when their answer has expired.
More: Write the notice.
Proof#
How do we prove that someone consented?#
Each answer is stored as a consent record. It holds the exact version of the wording shown, the decision for each purpose, the time, the country, the law and what the person did.
Every change to the record is sealed, and each seal includes the one before. A record edited outside the product no longer matches its seals.
More: How consent is proven.
Can someone outside our company check the proof?#
Yes. For any record you can choose Export signed receipt. The receipt can be verified by someone with no access to your systems.
More: Verify a receipt.
Why should we keep the daily anchors?#
Each day's changes are combined into one signed summary, the anchor, and sent to your server as a webhook. Keeping those anchors in a system you control lets you show that nothing was changed afterwards.
More: Verify evidence anchors.
Can a record show that consent was given before the Act?#
Yes, as your statement. An import can mark earlier consent PRE_COMMENCEMENT and name the notice the person saw. Both are sealed. The product does not check them; ask your counsel before you use the label.
More: Import consent from a file.
Can we prove who was sent our notice and who read it?#
Partly. A notice campaign seals who was issued which link in a batch root, and each answer in a signed daily root. Delivery is as your sender reported it, unsealed. A link proves its holder answered, not who that was. An acknowledgement is a click, not proof of reading.
More: How notice campaigns are proven.
Can we record consent taken in a branch, by phone or on paper?#
Yes, from your server. Send capture with the channel, how the person confirmed and a reference to your evidence. It is sealed with that write. The product does not check the OTP, signature or recording, and marks a consent only your staff attest.
More: Record consent taken in a branch, by phone or on paper.
What is stored about a person#
Do you store email addresses and phone numbers?#
Not in readable form, by default. A record can be kept under an email address, a phone number, a user id or a browser id. Whichever it is, the identifier is stored as a keyed hash: a code worked out from the identifier and a secret.
The hash lets the product find the record again when you supply the same identifier. It cannot be turned back into the identifier.
More: Identifier hashing.
Can webhooks carry the identifier we sent?#
Only if you turn on Store a reversible subject identifier in Project settings. The product then keeps an encrypted, readable copy so that webhooks can carry the identifier. It is off by default. With email addresses or phone numbers, turning it on makes the stored data more sensitive.
More: Identifiers.
Do you store IP addresses?#
An IP address is stored with a record only as a hash, never as the address itself. The request logs of the deployment do hold the address.
A rights request can also carry a reply address. That address is stored encrypted, so your team can answer the person.
More: Data processing.
What if we record consent only under our own user ids?#
The product then holds nothing that names the person. Keep the link from your id to the person, because you need it to show who consented.
More: Identifiers.