In today’s digital era, individuals are willingly, and sometimes unintentionally, revealing a vast amount of personal information online. As the amount of data companies are collecting continues to grow, privacy has become a hot concern.
With new websites appearing every day and clients situated all over the world, privacy regulations may differ from nation to country, regulating privacy is a difficult task.
You must do your share as the owner of a website (or mobile application) that gathers personal information by maintaining a thorough and easily available privacy policy.
What is the definition of a privacy policy?
A privacy policy is a document that describes how a website or organization collects, stores, protects and uses personal information submitted by its users.
Personal information is defined differently depending on the item of legislation, but it often includes everything from names and contact information to more sensitive information such as payment details and social security numbers.
It outlines not just how the firm will use the data, but also how it will satisfy legal requirements and what happens if the company fails to meet those commitments.
Why do you need a privacy policy?
The main reason why you need a privacy policy is that it’s a legal requirement.
If you gather personal information from your users, most states and countries require you to have a privacy policy in place.
However, that’s not the only reason you need a privacy policy. Privacy policies build trust with your customers and website visitors. So, even if the law doesn’t require your business to have a privacy policy, it’s best practice to have one in place.
A privacy policy is a trust-building tool. It lets your users know that you care enough about their information to protect it. If your users know that you have their best interests at heart, they will be more likely to trust your company and feel comfortable using your website.
The content of your privacy policy, including how you treat personal information collected about your users, should be accessible from the homepage of your site. You can build trust by letting your users know that they are free to opt-out of any data collection, or correct or delete their personal information at any time.
What are the consequences of noncompliance?
As previously said, companies and online pages must establish and post a privacy policy on their websites as required by law. Otherwise, they may suffer legal repercussions if they do not comply. Depending on where you live, there are different types of ramifications that come with not following the rules set for privacy laws.
What should a privacy policy contain?
The type of your business, where you operate and where your customers are situated, the laws that apply to you, and the third-party services that you employ will all influence what you put in your privacy policy.
Some elements, on the other hand, are very conventional and appear in most privacy rules.
Let’s go over some of the most common issues every privacy policy should cover.
Which personal data you collect
Logic dictates that your privacy policy begins by outlining what kind of personal data you want to gather, whether directly or indirectly. This data can include anything from names and locations to phone numbers and email addresses.
If you’re collecting data that you think is necessary for your users to utilize your website, let them know so they can make an educated decision about what information, if any, they want to provide.
How you collect data
You should be open and honest about how you plan to obtain personal information from your consumers. If you’re collecting user data, monitoring geographic location, or utilizing any third-party services for advertising and retargeting reasons, you should let your users know.
How you use data
Now your users are aware that you will be collecting their personal information at this point, but what will you do with this data?
This is the most crucial portion of your privacy policy because utilizing this data to provide a better and more personalized experience on your website is not the same as selling it to third parties. This is also where you would define the legal basis for the collection if you have European users in order to comply with GDPR.
For example, if you run an eCommerce site, you should make it clear that personal information will be utilized to process payments and deliver items to consumers. In such a situation, their personal information is likely to be handled by a third party, such as an online payment processing service provider or your shipping partner. All of this should be made known to your consumers.
How you keep data secure
You should describe your methods and where the information is stored to your users so that they understand how you intend to secure their personal information from unwanted access.
You could include a statement stating that, while you make every effort to protect your users’ data, you cannot guarantee that your website will not be infected with malware or gain unauthorized access and that there is always a risk when storing and exchanging personal data.
How you store and share data
Your users should be aware of where their data will be stored, how long it will be kept, and whether it will be transported worldwide (this could be the case if your servers are located abroad, for example).
In a similar vein, you should be open about with whom and for what reason you disclose the user data you’ve collected. If you employ analytics or advertising services, for example, make this obvious and link to the privacy rules of these third-party organizations.
Keep in mind that there are a variety of additional forms of third parties, such as affiliate firms, social media networks, and service providers, so take them all into consideration while developing your privacy policy.
How data subjects can opt out
You should make it clear that giving personal data is optional, and that users may limit what they share, opt out, or cancel their consent at any moment. If this will have an impact on their experience with your product or website, you should explain why.
This section should list all of the rights that users have over their data, which may vary by nation or location. For example, under the GDPR, users have the right to seek a copy of all data gathered about them.
Using cookies
If you use cookies, make a note of it in your privacy policy and include a link to the page on your website where your cookie policy may be found. You should provide your users with the choice to opt out. If they do, you might want to explain how their user experience would be impacted.
Keeping communication records
Some websites allow users to send text messages or emails to their company or to other users. If this applies to your site, you should advise users that your organization maintains the right to keep this information for a certain period of time.
In fact, you are legally obliged to keep some emails for up to 7 years. That’s why you should have a clear email retention policy and inform users in a Privacy Policy that your organization may keep a copy of their emails.
Sharing data with third-parties
In conjunction with website maintenance, updates, new releases, or analytics data assessment or compilation, your organization may need to utilize personal user data. Your company’s privacy policy should state that it will be compelled to share user data with any third-party service providers it hires to help with these efforts. In the same way, your organization may be required to share user information with third-party marketing or advertising services. Your organization, on the other hand, should be in charge of ensuring that these service providers utilize proper security measures to protect customer data.
Other necessary elements
You may need to add some additional conditions to your privacy policy depending on the nature of your firm. You should research applicable legislation as well as the terms and conditions of the third-party services you use since some of them require special clauses in your insurance policy.
You should review and update your privacy policy on a regular basis to comply with ever-changing privacy regulations and to account for any changes to your website. When you make substantial changes to your policy, notify your users by issuing notices and obtaining new consent.
Final Thoughts
If you gather any type of personal information on your website, it’s obvious that you need a privacy policy.
There are several ways to ensure that your website complies with applicable privacy rules. Of course, you may speak with a lawyer, who will be able to assist you and develop a policy that is specific to your company. If you’re searching for a cost and time-effective option, you may utilize a privacy policy generator.
Do not succumb to the temptation of copying and pasting the privacy policy of another website. It may not be relevant to your industry and maybe missing key components.