Questions about new dashboard widget

  • Resolved Ate Up With Motor

    (@ate-up-with-motor)


    3 years, 5 months ago

    Hi,

    I just upgraded to the new version and I have some important questions about the dashboard widget:

    1. Where is the data the widget displayed stored in the database?
    2. Does that data include ANY personal information or potentially personally identifying details (e.g., IP addresses, recipient email addresses, automated responses that would identify specific mail servers, or even what WordPress site function generated the email)? This is an important privacy compliance issue; many jurisdictions have such expansive definitions of “personal information” that even stat counters can be deemed personal information if they can be associated with a specific user action.
    3. Is the data used for the widget still collected and compiled even if the widget is hidden? (The use of the phrase “hide the dashboard widget” would imply so.) If so, is there a way to completely disable that functionality?
    4. Is there any way to customize what data are collected and/or displayed?
    5. Is there any way, short of deleting entries in the database, to manually clear/reset the counters?

    I realize some of these may be pro functions, but because the creation of log data based on user activity can become a GDPR/CCPA/other privacy law compliance issue, this is a very, very concerning issue.

    I have to say, I have really mixed feelings about the addition of the widget for these reasons. While it would be handy to know if outgoing notification emails are failing, I really don’t need (or want) to keep a tally of email successfully sent, and the absolute last thing I want is for the plugin to create additional compliance headaches. If there’s no way to customize it or turn it off short of buying the pro version, I will need to uninstall the plugin and notify my web host that they should stop recommending it to people.

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
  • Plugin Author Gregor Capuder

    (@capuderg)

    Hi @ate-up-with-motor,

    the new dashboard widget in WP Mail SMTP (Lite version) only stores the total sent emails (so a single number counter), no personal information whatsoever.

    1. The total emails sent number counter is stored in the WP Options DB table.
    2. No personal information is stored in the DB
    3. If you enable the “Hide Dashboard Widget” option, all of its functionality will stop to work. The counter will not be incremented when the email is sent and the widget will not be displayed in the dashboard
    4. No, there is no need to customize since it’s only a number counter
    5. There are no “entries” in the Lite version, just the number counter WP Option that can be deleted in order to reset the counter

    In the Pro version, we allow the user to store email logs, which can store different information for the sent email. We allow total deletion of those email log records, if a client requests that and we also have a feature of automatic email log cleanup task, which deletes email logs older than X each day.

    So, no worries, there is no personal information collected + if you don’t like the simple email counter and the dashboard widget, you can simply disable it and its full functionality in the Settings -> Misc (tab).

    Let me know if you have any other questions ??

    Have a nice day!

    Thread Starter Ate Up With Motor

    (@ate-up-with-motor)

    @capuderg — Okay, thanks for your detailed response!

    Plugin Author Gregor Capuder

    (@capuderg)

    Hi @ate-up-with-motor,

    no problem ??

    Have a great day!

Viewing 3 replies - 1 through 3 (of 3 total)
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