There is no secret that General Data Protection Regulations clarify and set up new duties and responsibilities for any third party, which collects or stores personal data of individuals, located in Europe. In the previous blogs, we were talking about How to choose an eCommerce platform 100% GDPR compliant and Everything you need to know about GDPR in 2022. In today´s blog, we will deep dive the GDPR compliance, more specifically its integration on various apps on different platforms, such as Shopify or Bigcommerce, compared to Kooomo, which is 100% GDPR Compliant. First of all, let us clarify  a few famous GDPR doubts:
To whom does GDPR apply? 

  GDPR applies to any company that manages personal information from residents of the European Economic Area (EEA).   Kooomo´s privacy policy is to guarantee their customers the right to control their data by the GDPR, wherever these individuals might live.

How does the GDPR affect you?

    The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) relates to any company, which is based in Europe or serves European customers. There is nothing to worry about, as Kooomo´s servers are all based in Europe, in Ireland and Italy.
What are the data rights of individuals?

First of all, under the GDPR law, European individuals have the right to know how their data is being collected, stored and used. Secondly, GDPR also enforces restrictions on transferring data about Europeans outside Europe, under certain circumstances. For example, GDPR admits that the privacy laws of particular countries could protect enough information to allow transfers and that companies can receive enough information according to certain conduct codes or certain agreements. Furthermore, in case you deliver data of European residents outside of Europe, then you should consider if you are doing this in agreement with the GDPR compliance law.
Do I risk paying a fine?

On one hand, both Shopify and Bigcommerce´s servers are based in the United States, which means that you risk being penalised, under the GDPR jurisdiction.  On the other hand, Kooomo´s servers are 100% hosted in Europe and we do not share any data outside of Europe.
How to know that a platform is GDPR compliant?

We request customers' approval on:
  • Confirmation of understanding the Privacy Policy for personal data processing,
  • Acceptance of the processing of personal information for marketing purposes,
  • Acceptance to access the personal data, for market research and statistics.  
Do I need a specific GDPR marketing app?    

    Kooomo does not require the use of an app.  Other eCommerce platforms, such as Shopify or Bigcommerce have their own GDPR  Shopify app and Bigcommerce mobile app.  Kooomo manages all the GDPR compliance policy tasks under one-single GDPR compliance platform. 
In case you are using the Shopify GDPR app, you should acknowledge the following aspects:

  • If you need to get permission for providing a certain type of service, you should keep in mind that GDPR has strict regulations for asking for the consent of its users. Whether you use interest-based segments to target ads or different tracking codes in marketing, whether those segments use “delicate data” as defined in the GDPR.
  • In case you have to use “profile” or “automated decision-making”, these can request additional mandatory obligations under the requirements of GDPR law.
  • Brands can install both listed and unlisted apps from an app listing page which uses Shopify App Store URL.
  • To have an available GDPR Shopify App, this has to be listed and indexed in more places. Moreover, custom apps are integrated in an exclusive way for a single Shopify store and do not appear on the Shopify App Store.
  • Custom apps are built exclusively for a single Shopify store and aren't listed on the Shopify App Store. 
Did you know that  80% of the issues can be sorted out by changing the forms and getting consent for cookies? 
In regards to this, Bigcommerce GDPR compliance requires the following amendments:
  • Merchants should have a compliant privacy policy
  • Implement cookie consent in the settings of your website
  • Establish third-party and custom scripts
  • Checking all your apps and integrations
  • Asking for consent in the newsletter sign-up and all your marketing communications
As we have seen above, GDPR Compliance is a very important and sensitive topic at the moment. Without the need for a separate GDPR app, Kooomo facilitates all this information and services for you, so you can focus entirely on your business. Kooomo is a 100% GDPR compliant eCommerce platform and you can find more information here on how to comply with the email marketing accordance. With servers located in Europe, we store your data in private data centres. Check out more on the Kooomo website!