Data Privacy

When the United States sneezes, the world catches a cold. This statement is particularly true in the world of digital technology. America is, after all, home to many of the world’s leading and most successful online companies. However, one area where our European cousins lead the charge is digital privacy.  GDPR changed the way the world views privacy If you cast your mind back to 2018, you’ll remember how the European Union shook up the entire world with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  At the time, GDPR was unique […]

Ten months ago, Apple rolled out its Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) update for users of its iOS15, iPadOS 15, and shortly after, macOS 12 Monterey operating systems. At the time, many panic-stricken marketing pundits described it as yet another email marketing extinction event (will they ever learn?). At emfluence, we preferred to position it as an evolutionary step in the ever-changing world of email marketing.     The email marketing experts at emfluence aren’t prone to panic. We’ve seen these “extinction events” before and know that email nearly always emerges […]

As more of everything we do is conducted online, digital privacy should be something that everyone takes more seriously. This is because we know that if the wrong person accesses the right information at the wrong time, it can cause us more than a major inconvenience. Despite this, how many of us still use the same password to access every online service we use? And seriously, if you still use a password like “P4ssW0rd1”, you should probably give yourself a good talking to.    There are numerous rules, regulations, and […]

Another day, another acronym. If anything has defined the role of an email marketer in the last five years, it’s the constant rollout of new consumer privacy regulations around the world.   Hot on the heels of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which sent shockwaves around the world in 2018, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) sought to give consumers in the state greater control over the information businesses collect from them. Then in 2020, Californians voted to approve Proposition 24, which updated, modified and extended the […]

When a marketing technology has been around for as long as email, it’s all too easy to visualize a sudden change in the eco-system, such as Apple’s recent iOS 15 Mail Privacy Protection update, as a potential extinction event. However, if we learned anything from previous “catastrophes,” such as the implementation of Gmail’s promotions tab in 2013 or GDPR in 2018, we should already know that email marketing is far more resilient than that.   Thankfully, email marketing is not a dinosaur, and Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection update is far […]

If you’re a digital marketer and have been residing anywhere but under a rock, you’ve heard about browsers phasing out third-party cookies by 2022. What felt like forever is now on our doorstep, and it will impact everything from website and conversion tracking to audience targeting. While we’re still not sure how all the varying data companies are going to adjust and aren’t going to go into the specifics of how it all works, let’s talk about what you can do to prepare starting right now.   Instant Forms One […]

For the past several years, the concept of increasing consumer data privacy has been gaining momentum and has been slowly impacting how marketers use your data. GDPR and CCPA regulations have driven awareness of this movement, and big data collection companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple have been shifting to meet the increasing demand for more data privacy. Last summer, Apple made the announcement that their iOS 14 update would include significant privacy updates that will affect all apps. Starting this month, these privacy updates (called App Tracking Transparency) will […]

From news sites to ecommerce stores and forums to social media, if you spend any amount of time on the web, you’ve almost certainly been exposed to what are called “cookie policy and consent interstitial pop up banners.” And if you’re like most, you’ve not only encountered them but been absolutely inundated by them. That’s because cookies on the web are ubiquitous.     Cookies are tiny bits of code that identify you and your browser for a variety of reasons. Some simply enable a website to function in a way that […]

Marketing departments within healthcare organizations face a unique challenge: balancing the need for personalized communication without running afoul of HIPAA guidelines. Often, the challenge isn’t one of not having enough information, but one of too much – most of which you shouldn’t use. The following is a quick guide to help you organize your email strategy so that it is effective and compliant with HIPAA requirements.   The good news for marketers using the emfluence Marketing Platform is that our software is HIPAA compliant. That means we adhere to a […]

A little more than a year ago, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect. As most of you know, GDPR lays out a set of rules designed to protect personal data and privacy for citizens of the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). Under the rules, any organization operating within the EU must adhere to strict conditions when collecting personal data, and must also protect that data from theft, exploitation, and abuse. Organizations must also track all data breaches and report these to […]

Do you market to consumers in California? You probably need to get to know CCPA. Even if you don’t, the new law could be the model for others states to quickly follow suit. Forbes is calling the measure “a wake-up call for everybody in tech.”   The California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), which takes effect in 2020, is the strongest privacy legislation in the United States. The California law protects the consumer privacy of California residents and affects every major corporation who collects data on California citizens. In its current […]

On May 25th, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be officially in effect. The GDPR is designed to update the rules on personal data collection and retention and will significantly alter how all organizations can handle customer information. Check out Dave Cacioppo’s previous blog post covering the broader impact of GDPR for Marketers. This post is going to be focused on a more granular facet of the impact of GDPR – Google Analytics (in truth, all web analytics platforms).   What Does GDPR Mean for Google Analytics? […]

Like it or not, the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is coming very soon. The legislation is designed to put control into the hands of consumers regarding how their personally identifiable information (PII) is obtained, used and shared. Most would agree that giving consumers control is the right thing to do. It does, however, present some significant challenges for businesses, including non-EU based companies, who do business with or market to individuals who are part of the EU.   GDPR consumer advantages:   Increased security. Companies are required […]