Better Sharing Privacy Compliance Playbook for E-Card & Invitation Platforms
How to Build Contact-Powered Features Without Breaking Privacy Laws
Sending e-cards and digital invitations seems like a purely personal activity. However, if your platform enables users to import, match, or message their contacts, you’re processing third-party personal data, which brings significant privacy and compliance responsibilities.
Contact-powered features carry privacy risks—even when they feel like personal communications. This distinction is crucial for platforms that facilitate digital greetings and invitations, as it affects how you design features, handle data, and communicate with users.
This playbook teaches founders, product managers, developers, and legal teams how to create e-card and invitation experiences that are beautiful, user-friendly, and fully privacy-compliant. By implementing these principles, you can build features that respect privacy while still delivering the seamless, engaging experiences users expect.
Built on the foundations of:
How to Handle Contacts Without Breaking Privacy Laws
What This Series Covers
Unique Legal Risks in E-Card and Invitation Platforms
Why sending a card or invite still triggers privacy obligations.
Navigating Global Privacy Regulations for Invitation Services
How GDPR, CCPA, CASL, and PECR regulate invite-based communications.
Proper Handling of Imported Contact Data
How to safely import contacts and respect non-user rights.
Personal vs. Marketing Communications – Drawing the Line
When an invitation becomes marketing—and the rules change.
Crafting Compliant Invitation Content and Messaging
How to write messages that users love and regulators respect.
Consent and Transparency in the Invitation Process
How to earn permission—and disclose everything users and recipients need to know.
Post-Send Obligations: Retention, Opt-Outs, and Deletion
What happens after you send an invitation—and how to manage data afterward.
Privacy-Forward Growth Strategies for E-Card Platforms
How to drive viral sharing without privacy pitfalls.
Who This Playbook Is For
This series is designed for teams building and maintaining:
- E-Card platforms that allow users to send digital greetings
- Digital invitation platforms for events and gatherings
- Event RSVP systems that facilitate guest management
- Holiday card and greeting apps for seasonal communications
- Social and gifting apps with sharing and invitation features
If your platform enables users to send any form of digital communication to their contacts, this playbook will help you navigate the complex privacy landscape while building engaging features.
Core Principle: Every Contact Matters
When users send an invite, it feels personal to them. But from a legal perspective, it’s often treated as electronic marketing—and the corresponding privacy rules apply.
This fundamental principle should guide your approach to building e-card and invitation features:
Respect every contact. Each person in a user’s address book has privacy rights, even if they never interact directly with your platform.
Minimize every data flow. Collect and process only the data necessary for the specific purpose of sending the invitation or e-card.
Document every permission. Maintain clear records of consent and ensure transparency throughout the invitation process.
Privacy-respecting invitation flows are the new growth advantage. As users become increasingly privacy-conscious, platforms that demonstrate respect for personal data will build stronger trust and loyalty.
Ready to Begin?
Start with:
Unique Legal Risks in E-Card and Invitation Platforms
Or revisit the foundations:
How to Handle Contacts Without Breaking Privacy Laws