Email and Privacy Permissions

As of a December 2021 update, users will be prompted to give permission for (a) their email address to be used for club communication such as meeting notices and (b) their contact information to be shown to others in the private member directory. This is to show greater respect for member preferences, as well as to address concerns related to privacy regulations such as the European Union’s GDPR.

Members will get this prompt every time they log in until they register their preference. Those who were previously enrolled with user accounts will continue to receive email (unless they have unsubscribed from club email). New members added by an administrator will not receive email until or unless they actively opt in. If your club uses the web-based application form, new members will be prompted to make a choice when they sign up.

Club website administrators and managers can see who has and has not granted permission on the Privacy Preferences screen (a submenu under Users on the administrator’s dashboard). They can also request that the member grant permission to be contacted through the website. Doing so sets that member account to “permission pending” status until the member either grants or denies permission.

Once the “permission pending” flag is set, the member will not receive email until and unless they opt in. Club leaders whose members are subject to GDRP or similar strict privacy regulations may wish to do this for all their existing members who have not yet registered a choice.

A few types of messages are not blocked, regardless of permission status:

• Password reset messages
• Prompts to set or reset permission status
• Messages generated by other plugins outside of RSVPMaker and RSVPMaker for Toastmasters

The email and privacy permission options are also listed as part of the Profile screen where members can update contact details or change their password. That is where a member who previously gave or denied permission can change that setting.