How to set up consent questions and mailing channels

Consent questions record what people have agreed to, and mailing channels sit underneath them, letting each person choose what they hear from you and how. Set up well, they mean you never have to wonder whether you’re allowed to send that email.

Setting up your questions and channels

1. Log in to your web office and go to Site Settings > Users > Consent & Mailing Channels.
2. Two consent questions come ready-made. ‘Consent to hold data’ is an example of consent for storing personal information; many churches rely on legitimate interest as their lawful basis for member records instead, and if that’s you, this field can simply be deleted. ‘General Communication Consent’ covers being contacted with updates, and your mailing channels are grouped under it.
3. Use the pencil icon to edit any question or channel, and the red bin icon to delete one.
4. To add a consent question, hover over the blue ‘+’ icon at the bottom right (or use the tasks button) and choose ‘Consent Question’. Give it a title (only shown in admin listings, not to users), keep it set to visible, and write the question itself, spelling out clearly what people are consenting to; you can link to further details. Untick the visible option if you want to keep a record of consent you already hold but stop collecting it online, for instance where it comes in on a paper form.
5. To add a mailing channel, use the same ‘+’ icon and choose ‘Mailing Channel’. Give it a name and description, group it under a consent question, add an image if you like, then choose the available correspondence methods and the default; the default is what’s selected for someone automatically once they’ve agreed to the parent consent question, until they state their own preference.
6. Finally, make sure new people are actually asked: go to Site Settings > Users > Registration Form and set the consent section to ‘Yes’, choosing either all consent fields or a custom set. The questions then appear on your registration form.

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Good to know

• A person only receives communications through a mailing channel once they’ve agreed to its parent consent question; channels are never opt-in by default. That’s the whole design: consent first, preferences second.
• You don’t have to squeeze everything under one question. Separate consent questions for specific areas, a holiday club, say, give people genuine choice and give you clearer records.
• Once the questions are live, everyone’s answers and their full history appear on each person’s record (see how to see and manage people’s consent), and when you want people to answer directly, how to ask your members for consent covers the ready-made mailing.
• What consent you need depends on your lawful basis for holding data, which is your church’s decision and responsibility; the ICO’s guidance on legitimate interest is the place to start, and this guide isn’t legal advice. Your privacy policy is part of the same picture.