Hello! It’s been a while since we’ve used the blog – but we wanted to give everyone an update on Frontline and Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The good news is that Frontline has always treated users as though they own their data, and we’ve never published it, made automated decisions based on it, or sold it to third parties. We’ve always shared the GDPR’s beliefs about people’s rights to their data, and have designed our platform accordingly.
That said, there’s always room for improvement – so we’ve made a few! Here they are:
We’re committed to creating and maintaining a list of the types of data that we collect about Frontline users at every stage of the process. You will always be able to find an up-to-date version of that list here.
We’re also committed to creating and maintaining a list of our suppliers, so you know which organizations (and privacy policies!) play a role. That list is here.
And, to make it extra easy, we’ve updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service to be as clear and direct as possible. You can find them here.
As always, you can get a copy of, correct, change, download, or manage any other aspect of your data through our platform and, if you ever have a problem, by e-mailing support@frontlinesms.com
The biggest thing we think we can do to help our data controller users, though, is help them become GDPR compliant. So, a few more notes about that:
FrontlineCloud is hosted on Amazon Web Services in the United States. For our users with an interest or presence in Europe, that means you’ll need a legally legitimate purpose or direct consent to share your end users’ personal data with us.
It’s extra important to be clear about whether the data you exchange is personal, clear with end users about what you’re doing with their data, and have a clear indicator of consent. Not all data is personal data, but we prioritize trust – and that starts with transparency.
We’re releasing a new version of Frontline soon! It will enable you to work offline and locally hosted. Some of you may remember that the original FrontlineSMS was a downloadable, desktop platform – we’re excited to rebuild from our roots. If you’re interested in being a beta tester and/or helping us build features that meet your needs – get in touch! info@frontlinesms.com.
GDPR is about fundamental rights. Frontline’s always believed in our user’s rights to their data, and it’s great to see the rest of the market stepping up. We’re far from perfect and know there’s a lot to learn with each step forward. We’re excited to be on the journey to building better with you, and we hope you’ll help us get better with feedback, participation, and, of course, messaging. \o/