What a marketing consent text should say
Under the GDPR, consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous (Article 4(11)). The guidance behind the generator says the text should name:
- Who will contact people: your company name.
- Which channels: email, SMS, phone or ads on social media.
- What about: the groups of products or the kind of content, such as offers or invitations to events.
- How to withdraw: Article 7(3) says people must be told before they consent that they can withdraw at any time, and that withdrawing must be as easy as giving consent.
- Where to read more: a link to your privacy policy, with the information Article 13 requires.
How the checkbox should work
- Not ticked in advance. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) says in its guidelines 05/2020 on consent that pre-ticked boxes are invalid and that silence or inactivity is not consent.
- A checkbox of its own. The Danish Consumer Ombudsman's guidance says consent must not be hidden in the terms, the privacy policy or at the bottom of the page.
- One purpose per checkbox. If you also want to share contact details with group companies, ask for that separately. The generator writes a second checkbox for it.
- A record you can show. Under Article 7(1), you must be able to show that people consented. Note when and how consent was given and which text people saw.
Competitions: can entry require consent?
Article 7(4) says that when you assess whether consent is freely given, utmost account must be taken of whether a service depends on consent it doesn't need. Countries differ on what this means for competitions:
- Denmark: the Consumer Ombudsman's guidance on competitions and consent (in Danish) says you may reward consent with entry into a competition if it is clear that consent is being collected. The request must come before people type their details and be as visible as the prize. People must not lose their entry if they withdraw. The guidance does not cover the data protection rules.
- Germany: the question is disputed. The data protection authority of North Rhine-Westphalia says making entry depend on newsletter consent usually breaches the coupling rule, while the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt found in 2019 that such consent can be voluntary. Section 7 of the UWG requires prior express consent before advertising by email.
That is why the generator uses the option with the fewest open questions: people can enter without ticking the box. Read the full guide to competitions and GDPR, and write the rules of your competition with the competition terms generator.
The confirmation email
With double opt-in, people confirm their email address with a link before they join your list. It helps you show that the person who signed up owns the address. Use an obvious subject, one clear button and no marketing, and tell people to ignore the email if they didn't sign up. Whether you need double opt-in depends on your market.
Fewer fields, clearer consent
Ask only for the details you need, as our guide to sign-up form fields explains. In Scratcher, you write your own consent texts, choose which fields are required so the newsletter can stay optional, and can send double opt-in emails. Read how we handle data on our security and GDPR page.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ between countries and change over time, so check with a lawyer in your country.
