You’ve likely noticed privacy policies on almost every website that you’ve visited, and there’s a good reason for this. Every time a customer visits a website, it gathers, stores, shares and sometimes sells their data.
This data could include things like a username, address, birthday, email address and consumer behavior. While it sounds alarming, this is normal for a vast majority of websites out there, and it’s the main reason why a privacy policy is required by law in many countries.
As a business owner, you’ll want to make sure that your website has one in place so that customers know what your site is doing with their data. Using our simple Privacy Policy Template can help.
What Is a Privacy Policy?
A privacy policy for website and business owners outlines how a company handles customers’ personal information when visiting its website. A website privacy policy template is used to inform the website’s visitors about the data that is collected on them and how the website and its owners plan to use it.
It’s also a transparent way for website and business owners to inform visitors about what’s going on with their data behind the scenes, which is important for business owners to establish trust with potential customers.
The specific requirements for privacy policies can change depending upon the laws under which a business or website operates and in which country it’s accessible. If you think you might need a privacy policy, it’s more than likely that you do.
It can help you abide by any guidelines set out and avoid any privacy issues or liabilities with your users or visitors. Fortunately, you’ll be able to get your own quickly laid out with the help of Incfile’s free Privacy Policy Template for your website, in addition to Incfile’s other business downloads and resources.
Which Laws Should I Be Aware of When Creating a Website Privacy Policy?
A privacy policy is a requirement by law to be displayed or posted on your website for visitors to see and read. Generally, a privacy policy must obey requirements set out by specific laws within your area or the country in which you are conducting business.
The U.S. does not have a general privacy law like some countries, so each state and even each sector may need to abide by different laws. Some examples include:
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which applies to businesses collecting information on children, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which applies to healthcare providers.
California, Virginia, Maryland and Colorado have their own privacy laws in place. California undoubtedly has the most robust and powerful laws, including the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). These laws will impact any website that is accessible in California, even if the business is based outside of the U.S.
Other countries generally have their own privacy laws that apply to websites and businesses operating there, such as:
- Canada: Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)
- Europe: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Australia: Privacy Act
- UK: Data Protection Act
What to Include in Your Privacy Policy
A privacy policy is all about what information you collect and how you use or share it. The essential parts of a privacy policy include:
What information you collect: Outline exactly what kind of information your website collects — for example, an email address, name, location, etc.
What you do with the information: Explain what you do with the information, such as whether you use it for shipping purposes, email marketing purposes or selling it to third-party services.
How long you keep the data for: Outline how long you store data and why.
What you do to safeguard the information: Explain what kinds of security measures you have on your website to ensure personal data is kept safe from unauthorized people.
Disclose any third-party services or plug-ins: Outline any third-party services or plug-ins that you use on your site that may also collect data, such as a credit card processor, analytics app or email marketing service.
Outline user’s rights: You should also explain any rights that the user has when it comes to collecting and storing data, such as erasing any data upon the user’s request.
Cookies and optional features: There may be additional sections required depending on the privacy laws or industries that you operate under, such as handling of children’s data or whether you sell personal information. Cookies — files created by the websites you visit — are provided to third parties to streamline your internet search, but can also provide privacy risks. It’s important to learn more about this feature to decide how it should be used on your site.
Tips for Putting Together and Displaying a Privacy Policy
- Make your policy easy to read and structured clearly with different sections so the information is accessible for everyone.
- Be transparent and honest — if you knowingly collect, share, keep or sell personal information of any kind, you must declare it in your policy.
- Link to your privacy policy in your website’s footer as well as anywhere on the website where personal information is collected, such as a contact form, ecommerce checkout or newsletter sign-up.
- Ensure that you tailor a privacy policy to suit your own website or company. Don’t simply copy and paste one from another site. This is when a privacy policy template can help you.
What’s the Difference Between a Privacy Policy and a Terms and Conditions Agreement?
You might have seen both a privacy policy and terms and conditions on websites before. While they both have legal parameters, they are quite different.
- A privacy policy is a transparent document protecting your client and their data and is legally required (as explained above).
- Terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) is about protecting you, your website and your company. It outlines what is required of the user or visitor by visiting your site, subscribing to your content, downloading an app or purchasing a product. While not legally required, it can help if a legal issue is brought up by a customer, user or visitor.
What to Remember About Privacy Policy Templates for Small Businesses
Small business owners have many things to keep in mind when it comes to building trust with their customers. Providing a clear and transparent privacy policy is an essential step to start off on the right foot the very moment a potential new customer visits your website.
Customers will have more confidence in a business that outlines and abides by the best practices mentioned here, and Incfile makes it easy to execute with this free Privacy Policy Template. Download Incfile’s Privacy Policy Template and explore our other business tools to set your business up for success.
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