Social media sharing, widgets, and Their GDPR implications

What are these tools?

Social media sharing tools are essential for amplifying content across platforms like Facebook (opens in new window), Twitter (opens in new window), Pinterest (opens in new window), Tumblr (opens in new window), LinkedIn (opens in new window), and many more. These tools facilitate seamless content distribution but come with their own set of challenges, particularly concerning GDPR compliance. This article explores social media sharing widgets and services, examines reasons for potentially avoiding their use, and provides practical tips for manually implementing social media sharing functionalities.

Social media sharing widgets are pre-built components that can be embedded into websites to enable users to share content directly on their social media profiles. They typically come with:

Share buttons: Icons representing various social media platforms that users click to share content.
Share counters: Displays the number of times content has been shared across social networks.
Social media feeds: Widgets that show live feeds from a website’s or a user’s social media accounts.

Popular social media sharing services include:

AddThis (opens in new window): Social sharing service that allows you to add buttons to websites on several popular platforms including WordPress, Shopify, Tumblr, and Blogger. Provides customizable share buttons and tools for content recommendations.
ShareThis (opens in new window): A free-to-use service that allows you to add social sharing buttons to your WordPress or Shopify website. Offers a range of sharing buttons and analytics.
AddToAny (opens in new window): Provides social sharing buttons also work on a variety of website platforms including WordPress, Tumblr, Drupal, and Joomla.

Why these widgets might be discouraged

While social media sharing widgets offer convenience, their use may be discouraged for several reasons:

Privacy concerns:
- Data collection: These widgets often track users’ interactions, collecting data such as IP addresses and browsing habits. This data collection can pose privacy risks and complicate GDPR compliance.
- Third-party cookies: Many widgets use third-party cookies to track user behavior, which requires explicit consent under GDPR.
Performance impact:
- Loading speed: External widgets can slow down website loading times, potentially impacting user experience and SEO.
Lack of control:
- Data handling: When using third-party services, you have limited control over how user data is managed and processed. This can be problematic for GDPR compliance, which demands stringent data protection measures.

For those looking to bypass third-party widgets and retain control over data handling and compliance, manually implementing social media sharing functionalities is a viable option. Here’s how to approach this for common platforms:

Facebook

<a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=<URL>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share this article on Facebook (opens in new window)">Share on Facebook</a>

Replace <URL> with the URL of the content you want to share.

Twitter

<a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=<URL>&text=<TEXT>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share this article on Twitter (opens in new window)">Share on Twitter</a>

Replace <URL> with the content URL and <TEXT> with a brief message.

<a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=<URL>&media=<IMAGE_URL>&description=<DESCRIPTION>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share this article on Pinterest (opens in new window)">Share on Pinterest</a>

Replace <URL>, <IMAGE_URL>, and <DESCRIPTION> with the respective content URL, image URL, and description.

Tumblr

<a href="https://www.tumblr.com/share/link?url=<URL>&name=<TITLE>&description=<DESCRIPTION>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share this article on Tumblr (opens in new window)">Share on Tumblr</a>

Replace <URL>, <TITLE>, and <DESCRIPTION> with the content URL, title, and description.

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=<URL>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share this article on LinkedIn (opens in new window)">Share on LinkedIn</a>

Replace <URL> with the URL of the content.

Email

<a href="mailto:?subject=<SUBJECT>&body=<BODY> <URL>" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share this article via e-mail">Share via Email</a>

Replace <SUBJECT>, <BODY>, and <URL> with the email subject, body text, and content URL.

Conclusion

Social media sharing widgets offer convenience but come with potential privacy and performance drawbacks. For better control and GDPR compliance, manually implementing social media sharing functionalities provides a viable alternative. By using direct share links and ensuring proper data handling practices, you can effectively integrate social sharing features into your website while maintaining compliance with data protection regulations. If you're looking to enhance your content's reach, let Playful Sparkle help you set up social media sharing links tailored to your products and content, ensuring seamless integration and compliance with best practices.

Resources

Article author Zsolt Oroszlány

CEO of the creative agency Playful Sparkle, brings over 20 years of expertise in graphic design and programming. He leads innovative projects and spends his free time working out, watching movies, and experimenting with new CSS features. Zsolt's dedication to his work and hobbies drives his success in the creative industry.