GDPR: Google Maps

[Value Wordpress]

Hey there,
I have some questions on GDPR:

1. Google Maps: I would like to embedd Google Maps in my events, but there is an issue with the data send from my server to Google Maps, if it is embedded. There are some solutions for this (https://borlabs.io/borlabs-cookie/), but it does not help for the Events Calendar. Are you working on a solution for that? The problem is, that visitors should not automatically be redirected to Google. After one click it is okay.

2. Ticket system: If I use the ticketing service of the events calendar personal data is saved. Do you have text for the privacy policy statement for that? Is there a way to manage the data better? For instance, if users want to be forgotten? And: I am using mailerlite as a mailingtool. Is there a way to integrate with checkboxes the subscription to the certain mailinglist if people confirm their coming?

Best,
Tilman

[Andras]

Grüss dich Tilman

Thanks for reaching out to us! Let me try to help you with your questions.

I would like to embedd Google Maps in my events

Can you please provide more details on what you would like to achieve.

The Events Calendar already comes with a built in google map functionality. If you add an address to your event and you add a google maps API key under Events > Settings > APIs tab then a map will show up on the single event page showing the location, like on this page for example.

Do you have text for the privacy policy statement for that?

No, we do not have a template for that as it might vary from country to country. Best would be to check the requirements in your location, check how some other websites do it and write something based on that.

Is there a way to manage the data better? For instance, if users want to be forgotten?

No, not at the moment. You will need to manually search and delete the user data.

I am using mailerlite as a mailingtool. Is there a way to integrate with checkboxes the subscription to the certain mailinglist if people confirm their coming?

I’m sorry, we do not provide any integration with any mailing list plugins yet. If you think that is something you would like as a feature I encourage you to visit our User Voice Page and either upvote an existing request or make a new request there.

It should be possible to create an integration with some custom development, that is however beyond the scope of our support. I can share with you this list of freelance developers who might be able to help you with this.

Alternatively you can use WooCommerce to handle your eCommerce which provides integration with mailing tools.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Cheers,
Andras

 

[Value Wordpress]

This reply is private.

[Andras]

This reply is private.

[Value Wordpress]

This reply is private.

[Andras]

Hi Tilman,

I believe we are not going to move into that direction. I’ll ask the team handling these type of questions, I’ll get back to you when I get a reply.

Thanks for your patience!

If you need a solution for this faster, you can try to reach out to these developers who might be able to help you out. My approach would be:

• Create a template override for the single event page
• insert a button which when clicked loads the code needed for the map

Cheers,
Andras

[Value Wordpress]

Hey,
thanks! I think you need to go in this way as regulation goes in this way. This is good german article on this issue: https://comm-press.de/blog/aenderungen-bei-der-datenschutzgrundverordnung. You can translate it with https://www.deepl.com/translator.
To put it in a nutshell, user have to give their active consent to be tracked. As Google Maps tracks users, the consent is needed before the service is offered.
Best,
Tilman

[Andras]

Hey Tilman,

Thanks for the article, will check it out.

user have to give their active consent to be tracked. As Google Maps tracks users, the consent is needed before the service is offered.

Yes, we are aware of this part.

As far as I know the site owner’s responsibility to point out to the users in their privacy policy what data is being collected, tracked, and used.

One way of doing things is that if they do not consent, then they are taken away from the website. Currently I believe this is how it is done in majority of the cases.

And of course the nicer way to do it is not loading the content that users don’t consent to. This is a bit trickier to implement obviously.

A colleague offered a partial solution for this:

If you have a cookie consent popup (or whatever), the user accepts it, then the cookie gets set. Then you could use this snippet for loading / not loading the map:

function cookies_are_go() {
return ! empty( $_COOKIE['cookies_are_go'] )
&& '1' === $_COOKIE['cookies_are_go'];
}
add_action( 'tribe_events_map_embedded', function() {
if ( ! cookies_are_go() ) {
wp_dequeue_script( 'tribe_events_google_maps_api' );
wp_dequeue_script( Tribe__Events__Embedded_Maps::MAP_HANDLE );
}
} );

You will need to check and change the cookie name in the first function.

Two notes:

The downside is that if they landed on a single event post and only then agreed to the use of cookies, the map would still be missing and they’d need to do a page reload. The JS handling the cookie permission could do that, though.

This only covers maps on the single event page, but in principal could be extended to map view, too.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Andras

[Value Wordpress]

Thanks for getting back!

Yes, it is my obligation. But I also want to use products, that are GDPR compatible. I hope there could be a feature integrated in The Events Calendar, that is taken account of this issue. It really helps me. It is easier for you to do the workaround, as if I do it ;).

Back to the workaround: I am using https://borlabs.io/?noredirect=en_US and Matomo on my website. Any idea for the cookie name in this setting? I should integrate the code in the functions.php, or?

Can I alternativly switch all maps off? This would be pain, as this also might hurt my google rank.

Best

[Andras]

Hallo,

It is easier for you to do the workaround, as if I do it ;).

Might be, I’m not familiar with your development skills. 😉 However, our resources – just like everybody else’s – are limited, so even if this will be considered to be a feature of the plugin, it might take some time to get it developed.

Cookie names

I checked the borlabs website. There are 2 options to choose from (all cookies and some cookies). The cookie name that was set it ‘borlabsCookie’ with the following values respectively:

• https://cloudup.com/cln6Qlihq6e
• https://cloudup.com/cKmMUPhrSQ8

You can figure out other cookie name by installing an add-on / plugin for your browser. This time I used ‘Cookie Manager’ for Firefox.

You might need to adjust the code to look for the cookie value as well. This page can help you with that: https://cloudup.com/cKmMUPhrSQ8

And yes, the code should go into the functions.php file.

Can I alternatively switch all maps off?

Yes, I believe if you just add the following 2 lines to your functions.php file, then the maps will be off.

wp_dequeue_script( 'tribe_events_google_maps_api' );
wp_dequeue_script( Tribe__Events__Embedded_Maps::MAP_HANDLE );

You can also disable the ‘Map view’ under Events > Settings > Display tab, so users cannot access it.

That should do it.

Cheers,
Andras

[Value Wordpress]

Dear Andras,

thanks for the help! The problem is, that I am currently not using the cookie checkbox of Borlabs.Cookie. I think it is currently not needed, as I just have an self hosted Matomo running on website.

Therefore, I deleted the map entries in my calendar by hand. It worked quite well.

I also tried the code you gave me. It created an error. I also used the function to disable the ‘Map view’ under Events > Settings > Display tab. But this deleted all my RSVPs. Do you have any idea how to fix this?

Even if I had switched off the maps, there was a map shown here: https://www.valuedach.de/veranstaltungsort/huth-gastwirtschaft/. Is it possible to switch that map off? Or are you bringing an update that will only load the map after a click of the user?

Thank you!

Best

[Value Wordpress]

Okay. I think the problem is gone. I found a solution for it and Google Maps is switched off :).

[Andras]

Stoked to hear you found a solution.

I checked that venue you shared, I didn’t see a map there. Disabling the google map setting when editing the venue should switch off the map. Or you can create a template override for the venue.

Is there anything else I can help you with or any question you would like an answer for?

Cheers,
Andras

[Value Wordpress]

Thank you for getting back.
Just some style questions: How can I change here https://www.valuedach.de/events/ the colour in the green boxes for “Value Investing Treffen” and “kostenlos” “Erfahren Sie mehr” to white?
And another small question: Can I change the “Reservierung” to an other word? https://www.valuedach.de/event/value-investing-treffen-in-hamburg-2/ And in the details: The Veranstaltungskatorien is the right translation, but a bit too long. Can I change that?

Thank you very much!

[Andras]

Sure thing.

To change the background color of the featured event boxes you can either:

1. Go to Appearance > Customizer > The Events Calendar > General Theme > Featured Highlight Color and set the color you want at the bottom color picker

OR

2. use this snippet:

.tribe-events-list .tribe-events-loop .tribe-event-featured {
background-color: red;
}

For the title use this:

#tribe-events-content.tribe-events-list .tribe-events-loop .tribe-event-featured [class*="-event-title"] a {
color: red;
}

For “kostenlos”:

.tribe-events-list .tribe-events-loop .tribe-event-featured .tribe-events-event-cost .ticket-cost {
background-color: red;
color: white;
}

For “Erfahren Sie mehr”:

#tribe-events-content.tribe-events-list .tribe-events-loop .tribe-event-featured a.tribe-events-read-more {
color: blue;
}

“Reservierung” and “Veranstaltungskategories” you can change easily in the .po translation files here

wp-content\plugins\event-tickets-4.7.3.1\lang\event-tickets-de_DE.po

and here

wp-content\plugins\the-events-calendar\lang\the-events-calendar-de_DE.po

respectively.

To edit the translations you can use the Loco Translate plugin or the PoEdit software.

Note, if you make changes to the translations, make sure that you put the .po and the .mo file under wp-contens/translations/plugins, otherwise your changes will be lost with a plugin update.

Here are 2 more articles that might be helpful:

• https://theeventscalendar.com/knowledgebase/translating-the-events-calendar/
• https://theeventscalendar.com/knowledgebase/adding-or-updating-a-translation/

Cheers,
Andras

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