About sources
What are sources
GDPR demands of you that a person can exercise his right to access his own information. You also need to show them where this personal data originates from. Or to make it more concrete: how you got your hands on that data. Sources in Flexmail is where you can store this information, it's a required field. You can store multiple sources for a single contact.
How do sources work in Flexmail
There are three different ways of adding contacts to your database and therefore also three different ways to add sources to your contacts. With an opt-in form, by import or by adding the contact manually.
When a contact fills out an opt-in form, he gives you permission to store his information. We will store the name of the opt-in form used in his sources.
For every import you do, you also need to indicate what source you'd like to add to your contacts. You can choose from already existing sources or create your own. It is recommended to choose the name of your file or meaningful information, such as "customer file", as the name of your new source.
When you add a contact manually, you will have to provide a source with each contact. Let’s say you had an event and people asked you to keep them updated about new items. You can add the contact manually and add the source “Event XYZ”. This way you will know where the contact is coming from.
Do my contacts get to see my sources?
No, they won't. This information is for you to keep track of what you're actually doing with your data. We do advise you that IF a contact ever exercises his right to access, you consult those sources to collect the needed information.
How should I name my sources?
When naming your sources, remember you want to remember when you're looking at those sources how you came into contact with a person, or how you collected their consent.
If you're exporting from your customer base, a good name could be: Customer base export dd-mm-yy. If you're adding subscriptions from event visitors, you could use: Event XYZ yyyy subscriptions.