WordPress has updated its version to 4.9.6 in its latest release. The updated version is a privacy and maintenance update, targeted towards meeting the GDPR compliance set by the European Union (EU).
The WordPress 4.9.6 GDPR compliant version empowers the users of the EU. As a result, it includes the method of collection and usage of their personal information.
The EU guidelines state that the GDPR compliance WordPress version should be released within the set deadline. Otherwise, every website on the WordPress platform would be in the non-compliant zone.
What is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance?
WordPress states that the latest update is in accordance with the EU’s May 25 GDPR deadline 2018. The new update gives users the ability to control the method of collecting and using the data.
Although the EU’s guidelines are only for EU users. But, it does not just limit to users within the EU but also EU residents who are accessing the websites from any corner of the globe.
Hence all users across the globe should to some extent be able to enjoy this feature.
Also Read: Power to the People: GDPR, Trust, and Data Privacy
Is WordPress 4.9.6 GDPR Compliant?
According to the GDPR date May 2018 release guidelines set by the EU, WordPress has tweaked its platform to ensure total transparency in terms of data storage and usage.
Some of the newly released features among the total of 95 updates are as follows:
Comments: When a user commentating logs out of their account, they have the choice to save their name, email, and website in the browser cookies.
Privacy Policy: Every website must now provide a link to its privacy policy upon sign-in and registration, as well as on all other pages of the website.
This is to ensure that the user is aware of the policies before and during the usage of the website.
WordPress has provided a WordPress GDPR guide on its website which contains a basic skeleton of the privacy policy for the website who are starting out.
Plugin Information: Websites might contain certain plugins that do capture user data. If there is any such plugin on your website, this information must be clearly communicated. Especially, to the users before or during the usage of the website.
For more information on this, one can refer to the GDPR WordPress plugin guide.
Data Handling: WordPress provides the option of data export and data erase.
As per the new update in line with the guidelines, the users' data receives an email. It consists of a link to accept or decline the request by the site administrator. That is to say it either exports or erases the data, putting the user in the place of power.
These new changes in the WordPress 4.9.6 GDPR update will definitely be a game-changer. As a result, pushing the rest of the world to enforce such or similar guidelines to protect the data of the users in their regions.
