Jetpack 6.0 Takes Steps Towards GDPR Compliance

Jetpack 6.0 is available for upgrade. It comes with improvements to the social media icons widget, enhanced brute force protection, and better compatibility between WooCommerce and Jetpack.

Its headlining features though are privacy related as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is set to go into effect May 25th. In 6.0, Jetpack has a dedicated privacy settings page that links to privacy documents and includes a way to opt-out of activity tracking.

These settings can be accessed by clicking the Privacy link at the bottom of the Jetpack Dashboard page.

Jetpack 6.0 Privacy Settings

The 'What Data Does Jetpack Sync' page outlines what data is used, how it's used, the relationship it has with the WordPress mobile apps, and provides an inside look at how Jetpack works.

These are the first steps towards GDPR compliance with more updates planned before the regulation goes into effect next month.

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11 responses to “Jetpack 6.0 Takes Steps Towards GDPR Compliance”

  1. I find it interesting that this comes on the heels of Facebook announcing that they have no intention of fully complying with the GDPR.

    I’ll bet at the end of the day that the US government will cave and shield ALL US businesses from obligation to comply.

    We have no intention to spend one dime to comply with this ever.

  2. Nice, if Jetpack would become GDPR compliant.

    But the links to some documents are not enough, and I didn’d find the mentioned way to opt-out of activity tracking.

  3. “that links to privacy documents and includes a way to opt-out of activity tracking”

    That’s curious, because GDPR requires explicit, informed opt-in. Opt-out is not permitted. Can anyone clarify what JetPack really does here?

    • There is an automatic opt in when you connect your site with WordPress.com and you agree to the terms and conditions.

      I don’t believe this is fully GDPR compatible but this would require changes on WordPress.com. I have created an issue on GitHub for this: https://github.com/Automattic/jetpack/issues/9233

      There will be more improvements in future updates.

  4. WordPress itself is also well on its way to provide some much needed privacy tools in admin.

    They will help site owners comply with the GDPR, but can be used to facilitate easy and correct management of personal data in general, no matter the laws..

  5. What about the Jetpack comments/discussion module? At minimum, that’s going to need an opt-in checkbox to allow explicit consent for the information collected by the comment form, isn’t it? Aside from the information entered voluntarily in the fields, there’s at least IP address also collected.

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