Consent Checkboxes

If your privacy process calls for explicit consent, you can add a consent checkbox to your form and customize the text to explain what the user is consenting to.

You can add a consent checkbox to a form as follows:

1. Drag and drop a Checkbox field to your form. For example, you might position this immediately above the submit button.
2. In the sidebar, click the Checkboxes tab.
3. Replace Checkbox 1 with appropriate consent text. For example, I consent to #blog_name storing my submitted information so they can respond to my inquiry. The #blog_name variable is replaced with the name of your website.
4. Delete the Checkbox 2 and Checkbox 3 rows if they are not required.
5. Click the Save button.

Legal Notices

The Legal field can be used to display a privacy policy, terms and conditions, disclaimer, or other legal notice directly in your form.

You can enter your own legal notice or use Termageddon as the source. The field can also be set as required. When required, the visitor must scroll to the bottom of the legal notice before the field will validate.

This can be useful when you want to present information about how personal data will be collected, processed, or stored as part of completing a form.

Tracking

WS Form can collect tracking information associated with a submission. Individual tracking features can be enabled or disabled on a per-form basis, giving you control over the information your forms collect.

This includes controls for information such as IP addresses, geolocation, referrer information, and duration tracking. You can leave tracking features disabled when you do not need that information.

By default, new forms do not track any data from users. All tracking settings are opt-in.

CaptchaFox

WS Form supports CaptchaFox for protecting forms against spam and automated submissions. CaptchaFox describes its service as privacy-first and GDPR-compliant, with data processed and stored exclusively in EU data centers.

CaptchaFox also states that it does not build advertising profiles or sell user data, and that a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) is available.

Choose Fields to Save

The Save Submission action includes a Fields To Save setting that lets you control which submitted fields are stored in the database.

You can include or exclude specific fields from saved submissions. This allows a field to be used while processing a form without retaining its value in the WS Form submission database.

For example, if a sensitive value is needed by an action but does not need to be retained afterward, you can exclude that field from the saved submission.

Auto Delete Submissions

WS Form can automatically delete saved submissions after a retention period you specify. This can help you implement your organization’s data retention policy without having to manually remove old submissions.

To configure automatic deletion:

1. Edit your form in WS Form.
2. Open the Actions sidebar.
3. Select the Save Submission action.
4. Configure Auto Delete Submissions.
5. Enter the required retention period in Delete After (Days).

The Auto Delete Submissions setting provides the following options:

• Off – Automatic deletion is disabled for new submissions and no expiry date is set.
• Move to Trash – After the specified number of days, submissions are moved to trash and can be restored.
• Permanently Delete – After the specified number of days, submissions are permanently deleted rather than moved to trash.

Use the option and retention period that are appropriate for your organization’s data retention policy.

Encryption

WS Form PRO can encrypt submission data stored in the database, providing an additional layer of protection for information retained by WS Form.

Submission encryption is configured globally. Once enabled, submission metadata for new submissions is encrypted before it is stored in the database.

File uploads and signatures are not encrypted by this feature. Refer to the Data Encryption knowledge base article for configuration instructions and important considerations before enabling encryption.

Data Erasure Requests

WS Form integrates with the WordPress Erase Personal Data tools, allowing you to create a form that visitors can use to submit a personal data erasure request.

To create a data erasure request form:

1. Click Add New from the WS Form administration menu.
2. Click the GDPR tab.
3. Click the Data Erasure Request template.
4. Click Publish when the form is created.
5. Add the form to your website.

Once submitted, the request can be processed using the WordPress Erase Personal Data tools.

Data Export Requests

WS Form also integrates with the WordPress Export Personal Data tools, allowing you to create a form that visitors can use to submit a personal data export request.

To create a data export request form:

1. Click Add New from the WS Form administration menu.
2. Click the GDPR tab.
3. Click the Data Export Request template.
4. Click Publish when the form is created.
5. Add the form to your website.

Once submitted, the request can be processed using the WordPress Export Personal Data tools.