Ask visitors again
Choose whether people who already answered are asked again when you publish a new version of a consent form.
From version 2 onwards, each time you publish you choose what happens to visitors who already answered. Ask again when the new version asks something an earlier yes does not cover.
Choose who is asked again#
- Open Consent forms and select the form.
- Choose Publish version N at the top.
- Under People who answered an earlier version, choose one of the options below.
- Choose Publish version N to confirm.
| Option | What happens |
|---|---|
| Ask again only if something material changed (recommended) | Returning visitors are asked again only when the console finds a material change. Otherwise their answers stand. |
| Ask everyone again | Every returning visitor is asked again, whatever changed. |
| Keep their answers — wording fix only | Nobody is asked again, even if the console finds a material change. |
The console confirms the version number. If returning visitors will be asked again, the message says so.
Keeping answers after a material change
Keep their answers — wording fix only overrules the console. An answer given before the change is then treated as covering it. Use it only when you are sure the change asks nothing new.
What counts as a material change#
The console compares the new version with the one before it. A change is material when it asks something new of the person:
- a purpose is added, unless it is always on
- a purpose moves to a different category
- a purpose's legal basis changes
- a purpose that was always on can now be declined
- a purpose's decision lasts longer than before
- a purpose shares data with a new partner
Everything else is not material, and earlier answers stand. That covers:
- new wording for the heading, body or buttons
- the layout, styling, translations and dialog labels
- a new name or description for a purpose
- a removed purpose or partner
- a shorter life for a purpose, and the form's own validity period
- more items under a purpose's Data used
If a purpose now uses data it did not use before, choose Ask everyone again. The console does not treat that change as material.
What visitors see#
New visitors get the new version.
Returning visitors whose answers stand see nothing. The banner stays away until their answer expires.
Returning visitors who are asked again see the banner come back. A line says that what you ask has changed since their last visit. Up to four of the changes follow, such as a purpose that was added. Their earlier answers stay for the purposes already covered. Only what is new starts from its default.
A visitor who missed several versions is asked again if any of those versions required it. They see the changes from all of them.
Reword the line on the returning banner
Reword the line for each language under Dialog labels, as What changed since the last visit. The console writes the list of changes itself, in English. See Reword the dialog labels.