Trusted Marketing Cloud Personalization and Data Ethics

Salesforce and Responsible Personalization

Salesforce is continuously and deeply committed to the ethical and humane use of technology. We care about how our products are designed, developed, and delivered. Consider these ethical practices when designing and building personalization solutions with Marketing Cloud Personalization.

Use and Collect Individual Information Appropriately

Give customers control of their preferences. Customers must have a say in how you use their data. Most importantly, after they provide you with their preferences, be sure to honor them.

Practice data minimization. Collect and retain only the minimum amount of personal data necessary for the specific purpose for which it’s being processed. Implement time-to-live policies to delete resolved case data after 30, 60, 90 days - or at least every 365.

Provide a Clear Exchange of Value for Data

Provide clear benefits in exchange for data and deliver results that justify data collection. Customers are more willing to provide data if they know how it can improve their experience. Give them a reason or benefit for providing the data. Ensure that it makes sense and is commensurate with what they’re giving up in exchange.

Treat Sensitive Data Carefully

Make sure that you’re collecting only the data you need. Be intentional about why you’re collecting it. Using certain data—such as age, gender, or ethnicity—can introduce bias into your personalization solution. Other data, such as postal codes (which can be highly correlated with race), can serve as proxies for bias. When storing sensitive data such as financial or medical information, use that data appropriately and treat it with respect. Finally, observe the “right of least privilege” and give access only to people that truly need it, and only when they need it.

Collect and Use Only What You Need

Data can be an asset, but it can also be a liability. Collect the minimal information needed to fit your use case. For example, if you want to know customers’ birthdays so you can send them a gift, ask only for month and date. The year isn’t needed, and omitting it reduces the risk of introducing unwanted age-related bias or discrimination into your solution. To derive intent, prioritize the use of behavioral-based patterns and signals over any demographic attributes you collect.

Choose Third-Party Partners Carefully

Understand and curate the chain of custody for data being provided to partners. With activation partners, use governance agreements to ensure the proper care, custody, control, and disposition of any data they manage or access. And be intentional about activating data through various ad platforms and third-party tools.