At this point, most of us have heard of and are familiar with the basics of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in the EU. It’s a legal framework which sets guidelines around the collection and processing of personal information for EU inhabitants.
However, the regulations and what they encompass is a lot to take in. And it can be difficult to understand how software which feeds you data, such a lead generation software, is compliant with GDPR laws.
So we want to clear up any questions or concerns you may have about this topic and walk you through how Leadinfo is fully GDPR compliant.
GDPR, legitimate interest and you
One of the guiding principles of GDPR is that companies must have a lawful basis for processing data. The law provides six legal bases companies can choose from for processing information. One of the bases is legitimate interest which allows you to process data on the grounds that the individual whose data you’re processing must show interest in what you’re offering. This includes processing data for marketing and analytical purposes.
This is the only legal justification you need when using Leadinfo. As someone visiting your website and browsing multiple pages clearly demonstrates interest. Leadinfo provides you with the contact information of people who visit your website, users who show a pure interest in what you have to offer.
How we collect data and remain GDPR compliant
There are several types of data, and not all of them fall under GDPR scrutiny. At Leadinfo, we process and provide our customers with business data, such as a company’s website and business phone number, which does not fall under GDPR, in addition to processing personal data.
What personal data do we collect? Only a user’s IP address which we match to our database. Our legal justification also falls under legitimate interest. But it’s worth noting that we don’t save or share a user’s IP address and provide our customers only with publicly accessible corporate data, which is GDPR exempt. So, long story short, we uphold privacy standards. Even in our use of cookies.
In addition, all of our vendors and third-party contractors have been evaluated to ensure they are GDPR compliant. Why? Because personal data is sensitive and we cannot and will not provide our customers with information that was illegally obtained. The risks are too high in an era of internet privacy regulations and tech watchdogs.
Your customers and Leadinfo
GDPR requires companies to inform users about what happens to their personal data, and doing so in your Terms & Conditions is not allowed. So you do need to add a note in your privacy statement which explains that you are gathering information and why.
Here are three sentences you could add which briefly explain why you collect data:
“To measure B2B use of our website, we use the Leadinfo solution based in Rotterdam. This service shows us company names and addresses based on the IP addresses of our visitors. The IP address is not stored after use.”
We’ve also translated the above text into eight different languages.
However, you don’t need consent from users and customers to use Leadinfo, given that you have a legal basis that covers why you’re doing so.
Keep winning—legally
GDPR can be a tangled web to navigate. However, know that by using Leadinfo, you are complying fully with the law under the legitimate interest clause. So you can keep on filling your sales pipeline with more leads than your competitors, all the while knowing that you are not breaching anyone’s privacy.
Want to know the nitty-gritty details about our software and GDPR? Check out our supporting documentation and FAQ.