Privacy and data
4 min read
Where data lives
All the data you enter stays in your own database: field values in {prefix}wpmcf_fg_{group key} tables, definitions and settings in {prefix}wpmcf_settings. The plugin has no WPMass server that receives your content. See Introduction for the storage design.
Personal data export and erase
Because values live in their own tables, WordPress core cannot see them. Mass Custom Fields registers itself with WordPress's privacy tools under the name Custom field values.
Go to Tools › Export Personal Data or Tools › Erase Personal Data, enter the person's email address and send the request as usual.
Export | Erase | |
|---|---|---|
User account (the user with that email) | Every field value saved on that user, grouped per field group | The whole row of that user in every field group table is removed |
Comments written with that email | Field values saved on those comments (in pages of 50 comments) | The whole rows of those comments are removed |
Password fields | Never exported | Removed together with the row |
Notes:
- Only a person's user account and comments are covered. Field values on a post or page they wrote, or on terms, are content, not personal profile data, so they are not in the export or erase. If such fields hold personal data, handle them under your own process.
- Erasing removes values only; the user account and comments themselves are handled by WordPress core's own erase tool.
- If erasing fails, the request shows "Custom field values could not be erased; see WPM Fields › Settings › Health." and the item is reported as retained.
Suggested privacy policy text
The plugin adds a section called Mass Custom Fields to WordPress's policy guide: go to Settings › Privacy and open the Policy Guide. It suggests text that:
- says the site stores extra information in custom fields on posts, profiles, terms and comments, and asks you to list the fields that hold personal data;
- says field values of a user account and of comments are included in export and erasure requests;
- says Map fields load maps from OpenStreetMap (or Google Maps) in the visitor's browser.
Copy it into your own privacy policy and complete the list of fields.
Outside services
The free plugin contacts an outside service only in these cases. Nothing is sent from your server unless noted.
Service | When | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
OpenStreetMap tiles (default map provider) | A Map field is shown (editor or visitor) | The browser requests map tiles: area coordinates, the page address as referrer, and the browser's IP address and user agent |
Nominatim address search (default) | An editor searches an address in a Map field (Search or Enter; at most one request a second) | The search text, from the editor's browser |
Google Maps | Only if you chose it in Settings › General › Maps and saved an API key | The viewed area, the search text and your API key. OpenStreetMap is not contacted then. |
oEmbed providers (YouTube, Vimeo, …) | An oEmbed field with a URL is shown | Your server asks the provider of that URL for its embed code, as the block editor does. WordPress caches the answer. |
Freemius | Only if you opt in when asked after activation, and for trials, purchases and license checks | After opt-in: site URL, WordPress, PHP and plugin versions, language, the admin's name and email, and activation, deactivation and uninstall events. License checks send the license key and site URL. |
Pro only, set up by you and called from your server: your chosen AI provider (OpenAI, Anthropic or Google Gemini) receives your prompt, the task brief, the data row of each page and the field definitions, authenticated with your own key; Google Sheets feeds download the sheet you linked as CSV from docs.google.com.
Each provider's own terms and privacy policy apply. Add the services you use to your privacy policy.
Data you can take out
- Tools on the plugin menu exports field groups, post types, taxonomies and options pages as JSON.
- Pro data tables can be downloaded as CSV.
- Deleting the plugin removes your data only if you opted in under Settings › General › Data; see Uninstalling.
Still stuck? Contact support