A document outlining how a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client’s data is known as a privacy policy. It’s crucial to take this seriously, as your business must implement security measures to protect customer data in accordance with the policy. Non-compliance can lead to legal issues such as lawsuits, fees, and fines. To understand the ins and outs of crafting a privacy policy, continue reading this guide.

Despite their importance for regulatory compliance, privacy policies are often overlooked. Even the most popular websites, while having them, don’t see much traffic on these pages. Having a well-defined privacy policy is crucial for aligning your website with both local and international regulations.

The good news is you don’t need a law degree to create a comprehensive privacy policy for your website. This article delves into the significance of privacy policies and highlights some essential clauses to include. We’ll also introduce you to three helpful tools for creating a privacy policy tailored to your website.

Let’s dive into the world of privacy!

The Importance of Privacy Policies

While privacy policies might seem complex, making an effort to understand them is always recommended. These legal documents inform users about how their data is handled. For instance, if your website collects details like email addresses, names, and birthdays during signup, the policy should clearly state how this information is used – be it for internal purposes like customer profiling or shared with third-party services (with necessary consent).

Although most visitors tend to skip over privacy policies, having one on your website offers several advantages:

Benefits of Having a Privacy Policy

• Legal Compliance: Some local and international regulations, such as CalOPPA and the EU’s GDPR, mandate websites to outline their data handling practices.
• Third-Party Service Requirements: Services like Google Analytics require a privacy policy to mention its use and specify the types of data being tracked.
• Transparency Builds Trust: A clear privacy policy demonstrates your commitment to safeguarding user information.

Even in countries without mandatory privacy policy laws, non-compliance with international regulations like the GDPR (applicable if you have EU users) can have consequences. Considering the risk of penalties, adding a privacy policy to your website is a simple yet crucial business decision.

While seeking legal assistance for drafting your privacy policy is ideal, it’s often not feasible for most website owners. This demand has led to the emergence of online services that help websites create basic privacy policies. Before exploring these services, let’s outline what your policy should contain.

3 Essential Clauses for Your Website’s Privacy Policy

While writing a privacy policy, these three clauses are a good starting point but not exhaustive for a comprehensive document. Consider them as the foundation and conduct further research on other important clauses.

The following section explores tools that can help you create a complete privacy policy with minimal input. Let’s explore the must-haves for your policy.

1. Types and Methods of Information Collection

This clause forms the heart of your privacy policy, detailing the specific information collected and the methods used. For instance, while signup forms directly collect email addresses and names, data like a user’s preferred web browser can be obtained indirectly via Google Analytics.

Ideally, this clause informs visitors about data collection practices, empowering them to decide if they’re comfortable using your services. More importantly, it ensures legal transparency. Here’s an example from our privacy policy:

Personally Identifiable Information, like your name, email address, or phone number, helps us specifically identify you. Downloading information or logging in may allow us to “recognize” you and offer personalized services.

This excerpt clarifies what constitutes personal information as opposed to anonymous data. It also mentions potential personalization based on collected information. Since logging in is only necessary for downloading purchased products and not mandatory, this is clarified as well.

2. How Collected Information is Used

Many websites engage in selling or sharing user data. Others use it for personalizing content and ads, among other purposes. When you write a privacy policy, other use cases to address include enforcing terms of use, enhancing website services, and more.

Transparency in this clause is essential. While users may consent to share personal data, they might not agree with all usage scenarios. Here’s how our privacy policy addresses this:

We primarily use personal information to provide services and communicate with our Clients regarding account activities, new offerings, or other relevant communications. We never sell or share any personally identifiable or other information of End Users to any third parties, except, of course, to the applicable Client whose website you are using.

If a user is uncomfortable with how a website uses your information their data, the GDPR outlines the ‘right to be forgotten,’ legally obligating websites to delete user data upon account cancellation requests.

3. Use of Cookies

Cookies are files stored on your computer that retain personal settings for specific websites. The term originates from ‘magic cookies,’ a UNIX-based OS token.

Websites use cookies to track user activity. For example, cookies help maintain login sessions even after leaving a website (with limitations). Complying with the EU’s Cookie Law and the new ePrivacy Regulation requires websites to inform visitors about cookie usage and offer options to disable them. This is how our privacy policy addresses cookies:

Our website uses cookies, tracking pixels, and related technologies. These small data files are served by our platform and stored on your device. We use our own and third-party cookies to operate and personalize the website. Cookies may also track your site usage to target ads on other websites.

The above excerpt explains what cookies are and how they’re used. It’s crucial to mention how users can opt out of using cookies, including those from third-party services like Google and MailChimp, later in your policy.

GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented in 2018, is among the most well-known data protection laws. Enacted by the European Union (EU), the GDPR empowers internet users with rights over their data.

When you write a privacy policy, these rules give users more control over their data. The regulation also introduced the “privacy by design” principle, requiring companies to prioritize user privacy when developing business practices, systems, and processes.

The GDPR applies to any website or application targeting residents of the European Economic Area (EEA), regardless of the website or application’s location. The law has become a model for various modern privacy laws.

CCPA

Another significant privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), was also enacted in 2018. As the first comprehensive state-level privacy law in the United States, the CCPA focuses on granting California residents more control over their personal information collected by companies.

The CCPA shares similarities with the GDPR but is generally considered less restrictive. Both laws empower users regarding data collection and processing, but the GDPR has stricter rules concerning cookie usage and user consent. Check out our infographic comparing CCPA and GDPR for a better understanding.

Electronic Privacy Directives and Regulations

Before the CCPA and GDPR, the ePrivacy Directive (EU Cookie Law) served as the EU’s primary internet privacy regulator. It guarantees users the website obtains the user’s consent on their browsers. The directive is set to evolve into the Electronic Privacy Regulation (ePr), working in conjunction with the GDPR. However, the European Commission hasn’t finalized the text and has postponed its implementation indefinitely.

PIPEDA

Canada’s privacy law, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), grants Canadian internet users the right to consent to data collection and access and challenge the accuracy of their information. PIPEDA mandates that personal data usage should align with its original collection purpose.

The law emphasizes accountability, clearly defining the purpose for data collection, obtaining appropriate consent, and restricting the collection of sensitive personal data.

Furthermore, PIPEDA limits the use, disclosure, and retention of personal information. Data must be accurate, secure, and accessible to individuals, allowing them to challenge non-compliant organizations.

4 Top-rated Privacy Policy Generators

While we highly recommend the services listed in this section, always review the language of any generated privacy policy for accuracy and completeness. Let’s explore these tools:

1. iubenda

iubenda stands out for its user-friendly approach. It utilizes a module-based system, making it easy to choose specific clauses for your policy and tailor their terms based on the services you employ. For instance, if you’re an Amazon Associate, adding the necessary language clause to your policy is a one-click process.

Key Features:

• Simple module system for building comprehensive privacy policies.
• Customization with your company information.
• Easy addition of clauses for popular third-party services (e.g., Amazon Associates, Google Analytics).
• Automatic policy updates based on new regulations.

Price: Offers both free and paid plans.

2. TermsFeed

TermsFeed simplifies privacy policy generation, allowing you to create basic policies in minutes and customize them with your site’s information. A quick questionnaire guides you through the process, helping determine necessary clauses. Once done, you receive your new policy via email within seconds. The platform also provides automatic policy updates to reflect legal changes.

Key Features:

• Customizable privacy policies generated through a simple questionnaire.
• Ensures compliance with national and international laws.
• Automatic policy updates to reflect legal changes.

Price: Offers both free and paid plans.

3. Shopify’s Privacy Policy Generator

Shopify’s Privacy Policy Generator is more specialized compared to the other tools discussed. It’s tailored for Shopify websites, enabling quick policy generation and highlighting crucial clauses related to handling payment information.

Key Features:

• Creates privacy policies specifically for Shopify stores.
• Helps outline how customer payment information is managed.
• Allows customization based on your store and its location.

Price: Free, but requires a Shopify subscription for optimal use.

4. Termly

Creating a Website Privacy Policy with iubenda

This section demonstrates creating a privacy policy using iubenda, chosen for its user-friendliness and reasonable pricing. Begin by visiting the iubenda website and clicking on the “GENERATE YOUR POLICY” button.

Enter your website’s URL in the next window and click the blue button:

You’ll be prompted to register a free account or log in using Facebook. Once logged in, you can add specific services used by your website to your privacy policy:

Clicking this button displays a list of clauses you can include:

As you select services, they’re automatically added to your privacy policy. You can preview the policy at any time by clicking on the “Preview” widget on the right side of the dashboard:

Once you’ve added all relevant services, click on the “Next” button at the bottom of the page. Now, enter your company’s name and address, and click “Next” again:

The final screen provides options for embedding your policy on your website:

Congratulations! Your privacy policy is ready once you’ve included all aspects of your data collection practices. Always review the complete policy before publishing it.

Conclusion

Website privacy policies often don’t get the attention they deserve. However, they’re indispensable for any website serious about data protection regulations. Besides ensuring legal compliance, privacy policies also inform visitors about how their personal information is handled, fostering trust.

If you’re unsure where to start with creating a website privacy policy, these three online generators are user-friendly and packed with features:

1. Iubenda: Module-based, supporting numerous third-party services.
2. TermsFeed: Generates basic policies through a simple questionnaire.
3. Shopify’s Privacy Policy Generator: Specifically designed for Shopify stores.
4. Termly creates it wholly and simply.

After learning about crafting a privacy policy, do you have any questions about the necessary clauses? Let’s discuss them in the comments section below!