Customer data access and deletion (GDPR)
How to give customers access to their data, handle deletion requests, and why orders and accounting data are kept for 5 years even when the personal data is removed.
Your customers have the right to know what data you hold about them, and to ask for it to be deleted. Cmerce has tools for both. At the same time, Norwegian bookkeeping rules require sales records to be kept for 5 years. Cmerce therefore anonymises the customer instead of deleting everything: the personal data is removed, but orders and accounting data stay.
Who is responsible?
| Party | Role |
|---|---|
| You (the shop) | Data controller (behandlingsansvarlig) – you decide what is collected and why, and you answer your customers. |
| Cmerce | Data processor (databehandler) – processes the data on your behalf, under the data processing agreement. |
| Your customers | Data subjects (de registrerte) |
You find the data processing agreement and the list of sub-processors under «Innstillinger» (Settings) → «Bedrift» (Company) → «Databehandleravtale» (Data processing agreement). If the agreement has been updated, you see «Databehandleravtalen er ikke akseptert» (The data processing agreement has not been accepted) and the button «Aksepter databehandleravtalen» (Accept the data processing agreement).
Access: exporting customer data
You do it for the customer:
- Go to «Kunder» (Customers) → «Kunder» and open the customer.
- Press «Eksporter kundedata» (Export customer data).
- Cmerce downloads a JSON file with everything the shop holds about the customer: profile, addresses, orders, subscriptions, bookings, payment methods (masked), e-mails and text messages sent, gift cards and stamp cards.
- Send the file to the customer securely.
The customer does it themselves: A logged-in customer can go to «Min konto» (My account) → «Personlig info» (Personal info) → «Personvern» (Privacy) in the webshop and press «Last ned mine data» (Download my data).
Deletion: anonymising a customer
- Open the customer under «Kunder» → «Kunder».
- Press «Anonymiser / slett persondata» (Anonymise / delete personal data).
- Read the text in the «Anonymiser persondata» dialog and press «Anonymiser» (Anonymise).
- You get the message «Persondata anonymisert» (Personal data anonymised), stating how many orders are kept as accounting data, and for how long.
What is removed, and what is kept?
| Removed | Kept (Bookkeeping Act, 5 years) |
|---|---|
| Name, company name, organisation number, e-mail, phone and other customer details | Orders and order lines |
| The customer's address book | The addresses on orders and sales documents |
| Login accounts linked to the customer | Till transactions and the electronic journal |
| Saved payment cards | Receipts and credit notes for online sales |
Deletion requests from the customer
A logged-in customer can press «Be om sletting» (Request deletion) under «Personvern» on the account page. The customer is told the request has been received and that the shop will handle it. Cmerce does not delete anything automatically – you must assess the request and anonymise the customer yourself.
The request is recorded in the audit trail: on the «Kontrollspor» (Audit trail) tab on the customer, and under «Logging» → «Kontrollspor» with the log «GDPR». Check it regularly.
Good to know
- Active subscriptions block anonymisation. If the customer has an active subscription, you get the message «Kan ikke anonymisere» (Cannot anonymise). End the subscription first, so Cmerce does not keep charging a card that is about to be deleted.
- Everything is logged without personal data. Exports, anonymisations and deletion requests are recorded in the audit trail with who did it, but without the customer's personal data.
- «Slett» is something else. The «Slett» (Delete) button only removes customers without orders or other history that must be kept. See Customers and customer groups.
- How long data is kept: see Retention: how long and where.
Summary
- You are the data controller; Cmerce is the data processor.
- «Eksporter kundedata» gives the customer access; customers can also download it themselves.
- «Anonymiser / slett persondata» removes the personal data but keeps accounting data for 5 years.
- Deletion requests end up in the audit trail – you handle them yourself.