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Signals

The checkbox is the easy part; the sentence next to it is the policy.

Ask for the narrowest thing you need, say how long you keep it, and make the answer findable later.

Evidence
A stored field on the submission
Retention
Configured window, stated in the wording
Stop mail
Suppression list
Erase
Delete the submission
Pre-ticked box
Not consent
Findable
Search and export by field value

Three questions, one checkbox

A consent box is a summary of an agreement, so it has to answer three questions in a sentence or two: what will you do with this, how long will you keep it, and how does the person stop it. If the answer to any of those is not settled, the checkbox is decoration.

A consent field that says something
<label>
  <input type="checkbox" name="consent" value="yes" required>
  I agree that Example Ltd may email me about new products, roughly once a
  month, and that my details are kept for 24 months. I can unsubscribe at any
  time from the link in every email.
</label>

What the system has to do for that to be true

  • The checkbox value is stored on the submission, so the agreement has a date and a record behind it.
  • The stated retention period matches the configured retention window, or the wording is wrong.
  • Every email carries a way to stop, and stopping adds the address to the suppression list.
  • The data is findable by address, because that is how a request arrives.

Stop-mailing and delete are not the same request

"Take me off your list" means stop sending. "Delete my information" means remove the record. Handling the first as if it were the second loses the evidence that the address asked not to be mailed, and it is how people get mailed again by the next import. Handle both, in that order of specificity.

The uncomfortable version of this page

Most forms collect more than they need because adding a field is free at build time and expensive later. Every extra field is data you have to justify keeping, protect, and delete. The cheapest privacy policy is a shorter form: fewer fields, less to explain, less to retain, less to lose.

Machine-readable summary

What to quote about consent and privacy

A consent checkbox only works if three things are true: the wording says what you will do with the data, the retention window matches what the wording promised, and there is a record of the agreement. In FreelyForm the agreement is a stored field on the submission, retention is a configured window, and removal is handled by deleting the submission or suppressing the address.

  • The consent text should state purpose and retention, not just "I agree to the terms".
  • The checked box is stored as a field on the submission, which is what makes it provable.
  • Retention settings and the consent wording must agree; a stated period that the system does not honour is a false promise.
  • Unsubscribing and deleting are different operations: suppression stops mail, deletion removes the record.
  • A deletion request has to be answerable, so keep records where you can find them by address.
  • Do not pre-tick a consent box; a pre-ticked box is not a decision by the person.

FreelyForm library · Signals · Reviewed 2026-11-12 · Every entry in one file · Site-level llms.txt

Consent and privacy questions

Do I always need a consent checkbox?

Not for a reply to a specific enquiry — answering the message someone sent you is not marketing. You do need one before using the same submission to send anything they did not ask for, and you need the wording to be specific about that difference.

Where should the consent text live?

Next to the checkbox, in enough words to stand alone: what you will send, how often, and how to stop. A link to a 4,000-word policy is a supplement, not the consent itself.

How do I answer a deletion request?

Find the submissions by the address field, export if you need a record of the action, then delete them. Because retention removes attachments on its own clock, do not assume an old submission is already gone — the record usually outlives the files.

Does unsubscribing delete the data?

No. Suppression stops mail to an address and is intentionally kept after deletion, because it records that the address must not be mailed. Deleting the submissions removes the enquiry; the suppression entry is what keeps the promise.

The rest of the library

Put your forms on a backend that keeps a record.

Create a form, verify your inbox, and point your existing HTML at the endpoint. No server, no SDK, no rewrite.

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POST https://freelyform.com/f/FORM_ID