GDPR compliance starts with clear consent, transparent data use, and strong privacy practices. When creating surveys or forms, use explicit opt-ins, clear privacy notices, and secure platforms like SurveyLegend to protect EU user data and stay compliant with regulations, avoiding penalties and building user trust.

If you are creating forms or surveys for a business that is based in the European Union (EU), or if you collect and process the personal data of EU citizens, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) affects you.

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) law basically says that:

• You must obtain freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent from your respondents when you collect their personal data. In other words, you shall not force people to respond to or fill out your surveys or forms, or somehow trick them to collect their personal data.
• Additionally, must explain how you plan to use their personal data in a clear and easy-to-understand way.
• Also, as individuals have the right to be forgotten, you must delete information that you have collected from them if they request.
• Using a consent form is essential for GDPR compliance, as it records explicit user consent and provides transparency about data usage.

You can view the entire GDPR regulation here at EUR-lex in 24 official European languages, or check out the GDPR site.

When creating GDPR-compliant surveys, using customizable templates can help streamline the process and ensure your forms meet legal requirements. GDPR-compliant surveys must meet all GDPR requirements, including obtaining valid consent, providing clear privacy notices, and ensuring data security. Choosing a GDPR-compliant survey platform also helps you collect feedback securely and in accordance with the law.

So, as a SurveyLegend user, you’re already covered. But we have made this article for you to help you stay compliant with this law when you collect personal data using surveys or forms made with our solution. We’re not going to investigate GDPR line by line, because it’s 88 pages long. We just want to guide you through the must-know basics for collecting feedback. To collect feedback in a GDPR-compliant way, it’s important to use secure tools and follow best practices for privacy and consent.

Introduction to GDPR Compliance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the European Union’s gold standard for data privacy and protection. Designed to safeguard the personal data of natural persons—referred to as data subjects—GDPR compliance is essential for any organization that collects, processes, or transfers personal data belonging to EU residents, regardless of where the organization is based. The regulation sets out clear rules to ensure transparency, accountability, and user control over personal data.

To achieve GDPR compliance, organizations must appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) if their core activities involve large-scale processing of sensitive data or regular monitoring of data subjects. The DPO oversees all data protection activities and acts as a point of contact for both data subjects and supervisory authorities. Under the General Data Protection Regulation, data subjects have robust rights, including the ability to request access to their personal data, request rectification or erasure, restrict or object to processing, and exercise their right to data portability. These rights empower individuals to make informed decisions about their data and ensure organizations remain accountable for how they handle such data.

Whether you’re collecting survey responses, managing a user’s account, or transferring personal data across borders, understanding and implementing GDPR requirements is crucial for building trust and avoiding costly penalties.

Understanding GDPR Principles

At the heart of the GDPR are seven key principles that guide how organizations should handle personal data. These principles ensure that data subjects’ rights are respected and that organizations process personal data responsibly:

1. Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Organizations must process personal data lawfully, fairly, and in a way that is transparent to data subjects. This means clearly informing individuals about how their data will be used and ensuring there is a valid lawful basis—such as consent, a statutory or contractual requirement, or legitimate interests—for processing personal data.
2. Purpose Limitation: Personal data should only be collected for specific, explicit, and legitimate purposes. Organizations must not process data in ways that are incompatible with those original purposes.
3. Data Minimization: Only the data that is necessary for the intended purpose should be collected and processed. This helps reduce risks and ensures that data subjects’ privacy is respected.
4. Accuracy: Organizations must take reasonable steps to ensure that personal data is accurate and kept up to date. Inaccurate data should be corrected or deleted without delay.
5. Storage Limitation: Personal data should not be kept for longer than necessary. Organizations must establish clear retention periods and securely delete or anonymize data when it is no longer needed.
6. Integrity and Confidentiality: Personal data must be processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing, accidental loss, destruction, or damage.
7. Accountability: Organizations are responsible for demonstrating compliance with all GDPR principles. This means keeping records of data processing activities and being able to show that data protection measures are in place.

By adhering to these principles, organizations can ensure that their data processing activities are both compliant and respectful of the rights and freedoms of data subjects.