Zoho CRM is on its way to GDPR Compliance

Zoho CRM is on its way to GDPR Compliance

Hello folks,  

GDPR has been the talk of the hour and we would like to ensure that this GDPR fever does not come in the way of your business and selling. There are several GDPR centric enhancements in Zoho CRM that will be released in a phased manner to all our users in the following weeks. 

Designed to help you meet the privacy standards set by the European Union, these enhancements will provide a streamlined mechanism for you to collect, process and store your customer data in conformation with the GDPR. 

So what is GDPR and how will it affect your business?

GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation is a landmark policy aimed at empowering citizens of the European Union regarding their personal data. With increasingly complex flow of information across the world, GDPR aims to give EU citizens more direct control on how their personal information is being processed in addition to improved data privacy.

GDPR not only applies to companies in the EU region but to any organization that collects or processes the data of EU citizens. If you are one of those organizations who collect or process data of EU citizens, the following enhancements in Zoho CRM are for you. 

GDPR centric enhancements in Zoho CRM:

We have split GDPR requirements into Data collection, Data processing and Data Subject Rights. In the sections below, we state the GDPR requirements along with the respective enhancements in Zoho CRM that meet them.  

Note: The Organization collecting customer data is referred to as "Data Controller"/"Controller", your customers are referred to as "Data Subjects" and Zoho CRM will be the "Data Processor". 

1. Data Collection

GDPR demands that personal information collected from Data Subjects should be limited to what the Data Controller needs in order to deliver its services, and a legitimate need in case of requesting additional information must be demonstrated. It is also mandatory that you state the purpose and get clear consent when collecting personal information.  

Consent must be explicit, where Data Subjects take an affirmative action (clicking on the checkbox, so no pre-ticked check boxes). Controllers are also expected to be transparent about the duration for which the data will be processed. 

Consent Form: Consent is one of the cornerstones of GDPR, as the execution of any processing activity now depends on the consent provided by the Data Subject. So in-order to demonstrate compliance, it is mandatory that a Data Controller identifies Data Subjects who require consent and those who do not require it under criteria such as Legitimate interest, Vital interest, Public interest, Contract, Freely given consent and other basis. After identifying this, the Data Controller should get consent from Data Subjects who require consent and be able to provide proof of consent if needed. 

The fully customizable consent form in Zoho CRM allows Controllers to get explicit consent in regards to: 
  • The purpose of data collection.
  • Preferred communication channel.
  • Duration for which the data can be processed or consent duration.
  • Sharing information with connected services.
Consent from Data Subjects, in written declaration or orally obtained consent (through email or telephone) can be attached to the form using the Attachment option.  


Once the Data Subject has submitted their consent, it's stored under the Data Subject's record details page for the purpose of official record and for the Controller to know their actionable items from the data provided. For example, if a Data Subject has explicitly stated that their preferred channel of communication is email, then they are not to be contacted through any other means. 

Double Opt-in Mechanism: This is one more compliance feature which you can use when setting up webforms. Anytime a Data Subject submits their information through a webform, a double Opt-in email is sent to them to confirm their registration/sign-up.

Data source tracking: Data Subjects' information can be pushed into Zoho CRM from multiple sources which include direct sources like web-forms, and indirect sources such as imports, manual entries, APIs, and third-party integrations.

The source and additional details if any (like the URL, IP address and geo-location) will be documented in the record details page. The screenshot below shows a new section called Data Privacy, under which Data source and the respective consent details are populated. 


2. Data Processing

Information provided by a Data Subject can only be processed in a lawful basis. There is significant emphasis on the fact that all processing activities must be carried out securely to ensure that personal information is not exposed. 

Marking Personal fields - fields containing PII (Personally Identifiable Information): Data Controllers can mark fields containing personal information as Personal fields and set a sensitivity level (High and Low). Based on the privacy preference, the Controller can choose to restrict these fields from certain processing activities such as exports, APIs and connected services.

There are two cases when data is being processed via connected services:

Case 1 - Data Subject has not consented to their data being shared with any connected services. In such a case no information of theirs will be shared with any of the integrated services of Zoho CRM. 
Case 2 - Data Subject has consented to their data being shared with connected services but there is an organizational restriction in sharing PIIs. In such a case the fields with PIIs will be not be processed in APIs and connected services. 

With regards to Zoho connected services (Zoho products like Books, Desk, Campaigns, etc.) consent provided in one product will apply across all integrated Zoho products.  

Encryption At Rest (EAR): Enterprise users have the option of Encryption At Rest for Personal fields. 

Audit log and timeline for customer records: The Data Controller can monitor the processing activities done on a Data Subject's personal information. 

Consent Management: The consent management system helps the Controller to keep track on the consent status of their Data Subjects. The system helps users identify Data Subjects who are yet to provide consent and immediately allows for sending an email with the consent form link. Consent can be obtained through webforms, consent form, portals and offline consent (Email or phone call). 

The screenshot below is a consent dashboard showing the various consent statuses. Clicking on them will get you a list of all Data Subjects with their particular consent status.   


3. Data Subject Rights

GDPR comes with a slew of rights which EU Data Subjects can exercise at any time which must be addressed in a month's time. The data request management in Zoho CRM lets the Controller keep track of all data requests to address them in a timely manner. The data requests raised is also maintained under each Data Subject's record details page so that the Controller is informed on any pending requests. 


The Data Subject can exercise their rights through the consent form, portal, or offline through email and phone calls.


Zoho CRM helps Controllers address these data requests through the following options: 

Access (Right to View): Using Zoho CRM's email feature, a template consisting of all customer information fields can be quickly created, which can then be sent to your customer upon request.
Rectify (Right to Rectify): Customer specific information can be exported and sent to the customer for rectification and the same can be updated.
Export (Right to Portability): Customer specific information can be exported, attached to an email and sent to a customer in a machine readable format, all without being downloaded on to your device.
Stop Process (Right to Stop Processing): Once a customer exercises this right, the corresponding record will be locked preventing further processing.
Erase (Right to be forgotten): Once exercised, the customer's record will be locked for the duration of the retention period defined in the Data controller's terms of service, after which the controller has the option to delete the customer information. Once deleted, the record will be moved to a blocklist and the re-entry of the same data will be prevented.

All of these enhancements will be made available for you in Zoho CRM in a phased manner. So watch this space for more updates!

    Access your files securely from anywhere


            Zoho Developer Community




                                      Zoho Desk Resources

                                      • Desk Community Learning Series


                                      • Digest


                                      • Functions


                                      • Meetups


                                      • Kbase


                                      • Resources


                                      • Glossary


                                      • Desk Marketplace


                                      • MVP Corner


                                      • Word of the Day



                                          Zoho Marketing Automation


                                                  Manage your brands on social media



                                                        Zoho TeamInbox Resources

                                                          Zoho DataPrep Resources



                                                            Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                              Zoho Books Resources


                                                                Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                  Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                    Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                      Qntrl Resources


                                                                        Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                            Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                            • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                              CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                            • Kaizen

                                                                              Kaizen

                                                                            • Functions

                                                                              Functions

                                                                            • Meetups

                                                                              Meetups

                                                                            • Kbase

                                                                              Kbase

                                                                            • Resources

                                                                              Resources

                                                                            • Digest

                                                                              Digest

                                                                            • CRM Marketplace

                                                                              CRM Marketplace

                                                                            • MVP Corner

                                                                              MVP Corner





                                                                                Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                Get Started Now


                                                                                  Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                    Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                    Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                    Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                      Zoho CRM コンテンツ






                                                                                        Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                            ご検討中の方





                                                                                                  • Recent Topics

                                                                                                  • Zoho CRM Widget not displaying 2 related lists (JS)

                                                                                                    Okay so I basically have 2 relatedLists that I want to get and render: ZOHO.CRM.API.getRelatedRecords({ Entity: data.Entity, RecordID: data.EntityId, RelatedList: "Notes", page: 1, per_page: 200, }) ZOHO.CRM.API.getRelatedRecords({ Entity: data.Entity,
                                                                                                  • Zoho Books and Zoho Projects Task Status Update

                                                                                                    How can we create an automation using custom functions for the following scenario. When our zoho books invoice status changes to paid. I want a task in Zoho projects to change to completed.
                                                                                                  • Default Sort Order in Project Tasks View

                                                                                                    It should be possible to specify a default sort order (or have the last explicit sort order restored upon reload) for the tasks in the project tasks view. Currently the sort order must be manually re-selected for each sub-group whenever any changes are
                                                                                                  • Assigning Tasks and Requests to Groups... how do I?

                                                                                                    Guys, I've spent many hours exploring Zoho Support and we are generally satisfied with the system.  I'm trying to understand how a system that has so much to offer can be missing GROUP assignment and queue functionality.  I am hoping that there is a way
                                                                                                  • Parsing of SQL query failed. Please check the SQL syntax.

                                                                                                    I am trying to have Zoho Analytics recognize that if the a Deal is in Stage "Need Docs" it should also be counted as a Deal in the Stage "New Lead" /*New Lead*/ SELECT "ID" 'New Lead' AS "Stage" From "Deals" Where "Stage" = 'Need Docs' Union All Error
                                                                                                  • Where is the setting to enable/disable 2FA?

                                                                                                    The following links show where enable/disable 2FA is supposed to appear, but neither appear for me: https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/zohosites/faq/account/articles/how-do-i-enable-or-disable-two-factor-authentication-for-my-account shows Security >
                                                                                                  • How to Assign Record Ownership in a Custom Form via API?

                                                                                                    Hello everyone, I’ve created a custom form in Zoho People and I’m using the API to manage its records. I would like to know how I can assign ownership of these records to specific users via the API. Is there a specific parameter or field in the API request
                                                                                                  • Customer Statement Template not matching when sending

                                                                                                    Hi everyone! So when I send statements to our customers via Zoho Books, the message that appears by default does not match what I have written on the template Under settings -> email notifications -> sales -> customer statement We have a single default
                                                                                                  • Working with keywords

                                                                                                    Hello everyone, first time here so I will try to be brief. I am working on my company's data set. I have a table with all the images we have on line. For each image we hava a cell tha contains all keywords related to that image. I would like to explore
                                                                                                  • Peppol Malaysia API

                                                                                                    Hi Zoho Books, my country Malaysia will going to implement "Peppol" (E-Invoicing), starting 1 Jul 2025 for all businesses. The government intends to provide API for accounting app. The workflow involves creating an invoice from accounting app, triggers
                                                                                                  • Re-emitir facturas con nueva dirección de facturación

                                                                                                    Hola, necesito saber si es posible que las facturas ya emitidas, pueden ser re-emitidas con el cambio de dirección de facturación, realizado el día de hoy 02-01-2025, para efectos contables. Espero su ayuda, Gracias
                                                                                                  • Zoho Learn vs. Trainer Central

                                                                                                    Hi, I'm currently using Zoho One with a WordPress-based website and WooCommerce to manage my online courses. I would like to know what is the difference between Zoho Learn and Trainer Central and if it's possible for these two platforms to replace WP
                                                                                                  • Map Plan to Different Income Account for Some Subscriptions via API

                                                                                                    We have a plan that has a default Plan Account of "Sales". Can we override the account for a specific subscription via API? In some instances the same exact plan should map to a different income account. When we create stand-alone invoices in Zoho Books,
                                                                                                  • Flow with CRM

                                                                                                    Hello, I have a simple flow that uses a web hook to enter data into a Sales Order. I have the web hook sending Flow data which has a PO field. If the PO has a special character like - or / or \ the task fails. How can I get the flow to be okay with the
                                                                                                  • Chrome browser issues. Anyone else?

                                                                                                    I am suddenly having multiple issues with Chrome browser interpreting the Zoho Mail interface.  Anyone else?  Any known problems? Thanks, Todd
                                                                                                  • Zoho Payroll US?

                                                                                                    Good morning, just reaching out today to see if there's any timeline, or if there's progress being made to bring Zoho Payroll out to be available to all states within the USA. Currently we're going through testing with zoho, and are having issues when
                                                                                                  • Set up multiple IMAP email addresses

                                                                                                    Hi, I just started using CRM and its great, but I just found out I can only add one imap email address for incoming mail in the included salesinbox ...this is ridiculous. All companies have different email such as sales@domain, info@domain , personal@domain
                                                                                                  • Function 58: Custom calculation in item table of invoices (2 fields)

                                                                                                    Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! In Zoho Books, the Item Amount in invoices is calculated by multiplying the Quantity and Rate fields. Previously, we shared a function to include a custom field in this calculation. Today, we are taking
                                                                                                  • Tracking new lead response time

                                                                                                    Hi, I have a team of Sales Development Reps, who have a KPI of responding to a lead within 20 mins or less once it hits the system.  I seem to recall that Zoho CRM had the capability to track this in a previous version, but don't see it anywhere.   It's
                                                                                                  • Pushing Data from One CRM account to another.

                                                                                                    We have business partners that want to collaborate through the CRM. Other than pre-planned data migrations what are the options for Zoho Users to transfer data between the accounts. For instance, could I create a webhook that is sent from our CRM and then is picked up in the partner's Flow?
                                                                                                  • Search function not working anymore

                                                                                                    Hi! The search function is not working anymore. How can we solve this problem?
                                                                                                  • When converting a lead to an account, the custom mandatory fields in the account are not treated by zoho as mandatory

                                                                                                    In my Account module I have a number of custom fields that I have set as mandatory. When I enter a new customer as a new account they work, I can't save the record without populating them. However when I convert a lead, my CRM users are able to save the
                                                                                                  • Expand Zia's Language Support and AI Capabilities

                                                                                                    Dear Zoho Desk Support, I would like to submit a feature request to improve Zia, the AI-driven support assistant in Zoho Desk. Currently, Zia only supports the English language, while other AI agents such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and Claude can work with a
                                                                                                  • get gettting the days number between two dates with deluge

                                                                                                    I am trying to calculate the days number between 2 specific dates but its not working. PLease help me.
                                                                                                  • Limit excceding issue in zoho creator

                                                                                                    I am transferring data from Zoho Books to Zoho Creator using a Deluge script. However, I am frequently encountering a "limit exceeding error," which seems to be related to the Deluge statements limit. I reached out to Zoho Support, and they informed me
                                                                                                  • How do I add more schedules to Zoho Creator?

                                                                                                    At the moment, the number of schedule calls we have in Zoho Creator are 1800 per month and I was wondering if it was possible to upgrade that amount to something higher. I'd like to know my options as well as the pricing.
                                                                                                  • Conexion CREATOR x CRM

                                                                                                    Buenas tardes, Tengo un problema con un código que crea un registro en CRM. Revisé el CRM para eliminar los campos obligatorios, pero cuando ejecuto el programa, aparece el siguiente mensaje de error: {"code":"MANDATORY_NOT_FOUND","details":{"api_name":"data"},"message":"required
                                                                                                  • Invoices with billable time and expenses

                                                                                                    I cannot seem to get a straight answer. We are looking to create an invoice to send to our clients, but it needs to have the following on it: 1. Billable hours for each employee. All hours for the pay period on one line, by employee. 2. Expenses for each
                                                                                                  • Search Bar Improvement for Zoho Commerce

                                                                                                    Hey everyone, I've been using Zoho Commerce for a bit now, and I think the search bar could really use an upgrade. Right now, it doesn't show products in a dropdown as you type, which would make finding items a lot faster. On Shopify, for example, you
                                                                                                  • Send Whatsapp with API including custom placeholders

                                                                                                    Is is possible to initiate a session on whatsapp IM channel with a template that includes params (placeholders) that are passed on the API call? This is very usefull to send a Utility message for a transactional notification including an order number
                                                                                                  • Can't get form response to populate custom PDF template

                                                                                                    I've created a template and set it to default but can't figure out how to get the response to populate that template. It keeps giving me the default summary.
                                                                                                  • Zoho Sheets not compatible with Excel/Google Sheets

                                                                                                    In order to share a copy of a Zoho sheet with someone that does not use Zoho, it must be downloaded as MS Excel format and then added to an email.  This is a labor intensive, and frankly confusing process.  I have forgotten to do this before, only to
                                                                                                  • Add Ability to Designate Decision Branches as "Error Branches"

                                                                                                    Zoho Flow gives the ability to track down, troubleshoot, and fix errors with the Status and Filter dropdowns in the History tab. This works well for when a "normal" Flow action registers with an error. However, there are other times where it would be
                                                                                                  • Visitors sending message via Whatsapp are not saving on contacts

                                                                                                    Visitors who sends me messages from Whatsapp when i finish the chat do not populate on contacts, how can I add them as contacts?
                                                                                                  • ChatGPT only summarize in English

                                                                                                    Hello i' v enabled chatgpt in salesIQ, it works great inside conversation (revise, Rephrase etc) add tags works well with another language than English. But when I want to summarize it render only in English, despite sales IQ is set to another language.
                                                                                                  • Brand with multiple facebooks pages

                                                                                                    HI, We are a small publisher that has different FaceBook pages for each of our product lines. All are within the same FB account.   Is it possible to add all of these pages to our one brand in zoho social so I orchestrate the posts between the different products?    Cheers, Joe
                                                                                                  • How do I connect Sales IQ to Shopify

                                                                                                    How do I connect Sales IQ to Shopify.    
                                                                                                  • DORA compliance

                                                                                                    For DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) compliance, I’ll want to check if Zoho provides specific features or policies aligned with DORA requirements, particularly for managing ICT risk, incident reporting, and ensuring operational resilience in
                                                                                                  • Stock Count - Does it really work?

                                                                                                    We have been trying to use the new Zoho Inventory stock count feature. It seems great at first glance.. ..but what we can't get our heads around is if a count doesn't match you can't simply set up a recount of those that are unmatched, which just seems
                                                                                                  • Create Ticket from Chat with Rest API

                                                                                                    Hi to everyone, is possible to create a ticket from Chat with Rest API? In user interface is possible by clicking on the button "Convert chat as a ticket". Anyone know how to do that? Thanks
                                                                                                  • Next Page