Sample Privacy Policy Template - PrivacyPolicies.com

A Privacy Policy is a statement or a legal document that states how a company or website collects, handles and processes data of its ... PrivacyPolicies.com Blog SamplePrivacyPolicyTemplate SamplePrivacyPolicyTemplate Lastupdatedon25August2022 byMariaPirzada (PrivacyPolicies.comLegalwriter) Ifyourbusinesscollectsorusespersonalinformation,youwillbelegallyrequiredtohaveandpostaPrivacyPolicy. Inthisarticle,wewilldiscusstheelementsofaPrivacyPolicytohelpyoubetterunderstandtheconstructsofaneffectivePrivacyPolicyagreementthatinstillsfaithandtrustinyourcustomersandprotectsyoufromanumberofliabilityissues. NeedaPrivacyPolicy?OurPrivacyPolicyGeneratorwillhelpyoucreateacustompolicythatyoucanuseonyourwebsiteandmobileapp.Justfollowthesefeweasysteps: Clickon"StartcreatingyourPrivacyPolicy"onourwebsite. SelecttheplatformswhereyourPrivacyPolicywillbeusedandgotothenextstep. Addinformationaboutyourbusiness:yourwebsiteand/orapp. Selectthecountry: Answerthequestionsfromourwizardrelatingtowhattypeofinformationyoucollectfromyourusers. Enteryouremailaddresswhereyou'dlikeyourPrivacyPolicysentandclick"Generate". Andyou'redone!NowyoucancopyorlinktoyourhostedPrivacyPolicy. 1.WhatisaPrivacyPolicy?2.WhyyouNeedaPrivacyPolicy2.1.APrivacyPolicyisRequiredbytheLaw2.2.APrivacyPolicyisRequiredbyThirdPartyServices2.3.APrivacyPolicyForIncreasedTransparency3.ExampleofaWebsitePrivacyPolicy4.ExamplesofUsefulClausesforYourPrivacyPolicy4.1.WhatInformationisCollectedandHow4.2.HowtheInformationisUsed4.3.HowtheInformationisStoredandProtected4.4.CompanyContactInformation4.5.UseofCookies,LogFilesandTracking4.6.Opt-OutPolicyClause5.FAQonPrivacyPolicies6.Conclusion WhatisaPrivacyPolicy? APrivacyPolicyisastatementoralegaldocumentthatstateshowacompanyorwebsitecollects,handlesandprocessesdataofitscustomersandvisitors.Itexplicitlydescribeswhetherthatinformationiskeptconfidential,orissharedwithorsoldtothirdparties. Personalinformationaboutanindividualmayincludethefollowing: Name Address Email Phonenumber Age Sex Maritalstatus Race Nationality Religiousbeliefs Forexample,anexcerptfromPinterest'sPrivacyPolicyagreementclearlydescribestheinformationPinterestcollectsfromitsusersaswellasfromanyothersourcethatusersenablePinteresttogatherinformationfrom.Theinformationthattheuservoluntarilygivesincludesnames,photos,pins,likes,emailaddress,and/orphonenumberetc.,allofwhichisregardedaspersonalinformation. Additionally,Pinterestalsostatesthatitcollectsuserlocationdatafrommobiledevices,andifsomeonemakesapurchaseonPinterest,paymentandcontactinformation-includinganaddressandphonenumber-willbecollected.Ifusersbuyproductsorservicesforothers,Pinterestgatherstheircontactinformationandshippingdetails,too. UsersmayalsogivePinterestpermissiontoaccessinformationthatissharedwithotherwebsiteslikeFacebookandTwitterbylinkingtheirPinterestaccountwiththem.Thisinformationwouldalsoincludeinformationabouttheirfriendsandfollowers.TheaccountsettingshaveinformationabouthowmuchaccessPinteresthastotheirusers'data. Insum,aPrivacyPolicyiswhereyouletyourusersknowallabouthowyoumakesuretheirprivacyisrespectedbyyourbusinesspractices. WhyyouNeedaPrivacyPolicy CompaniesorwebsitesthathandlecustomerinformationarerequiredbylawandthirdpartiestopublishtheirPrivacyPoliciesontheirbusinesswebsites.Ifyouownawebsite,webapp,mobileappordesktopappthatcollectsorprocessesuserdata,youmostcertainlywillhavetopostaPrivacyPolicyonyourwebsite(orgivein-appaccesstothefullPrivacyPolicyagreement). Privacyisnotanewconcept.Humanshavealwaysdesiredprivacyintheirsocialaswellasprivatelives.Buttheideaofprivacyasahumanrightisarelativelymodernphenomenon. Aroundtheworld,lawsandregulationshavebeendevelopedfortheprotectionofdatarelatedtogovernment,education,health,children,consumers,financialinstitutions,etc. Thisdataiscriticaltothepersonitbelongsto.Fromcreditcardnumbersandsocialsecuritynumberstoemailaddressesandphonenumbers,oursensitive,personallyidentifiableinformationisimportant.Thissortofinformationinunreliablehandscanpotentiallyhavefar-reachingconsequences. ThereareseveralreasonsforawebsitetopostitsPrivacyPolicyagreementonitswebsite. Herearesomeofthemainreasons: Requiredbythelaw Requiredbythirdpartyservices IncreasesTransparency Let'stakealookateachofthesereasonsinmoredepth. APrivacyPolicyisRequiredbytheLaw Forindividualstofeelcomfortablesharingtheirpersonalinformationontheinternet,thereshouldbesomesortoflegalresponsibilityonbusinessestoprotectthatdataandkeeptheusersinformedaboutthestatusandhealthoftheirinformation. Countriesaroundtheworldhaverealizedtheneedtoprotecttheircitizens'dataandprivacy.Businessesandwebsitesthatcollectand/orprocesscustomerinformationarerequiredtopublishandabidebyaPrivacyPolicyagreement. Amajorityofcountrieshavealreadyenactedlawstoprotecttheirusers'datasecurityandprivacy.Theselawsrequirebusinessestoobtainexplicitconsentfromuserswhosedatatheywillstoreorprocess. Afewoftheselawsincludethefollowing: CalOPPAintheUSA GDPRintheEU PIPEDAinCanada Forabusinessorawebsitethatcollectsandprocessesuserinformationinacertainregionorcountry,itisveryimportanttohavecompleteknowledgeofthedataandprivacyprotectionlawsenforcedinthatregionandtheregionyourcustomersandendusersarein.Non-compliancewiththeselawscanresultinheftyfinesorevenprosecutionagainsttheviolator. Insomecases,businesseshavetofollowlawsspecifictostatesorregulationsspecifictoindustries. Forexample,here'showGeneralMotorscomplieswithCalOPPAintheUSbyincludingaCalifornia-specificsectioninitsPrivacyPolicy: GeneralMotorsinformsitsCaliforniausersoftheirrightsthroughitsPrivacyPolicyasrequiredbyCalOPPA. Ifyourwebsite/appreachesusersaroundtheworld,regardlessofwhereyou'relocatedorheadquartered,you'llneedtomakesureyoufollowprivacylawsinallapplicablecountriesyoureach. Whiledataprotectionandprivacylawsdifferfromregiontoregion,aPrivacyPolicymustcomprehensivelyinformitsusersabouthowtheirdatawillbeused. Forexample,theGDPRiscurrentlythemostrobustprivacylegislationintheworldandoneofitsmainrequirementsforanybusinessthatfallsunderitsjurisdictionistohaveaGDPR-compliantPrivacyPolicythatcontainssomeveryspecificinformationandiswritteninaneasy-to-understandway. Whetheryourwebsiteisaself-helpblogoragamehostedatGooglePlay,itisyourresponsibilitytogiveyourenduserscompleteinformationabouthowanyassociatedthird-partieswillcollectandprocesstheirdataand(ifpossible)towhatpurpose. APrivacyPolicyisRequiredbyThirdPartyServices Apartfromgoverninglaws,somewebsiteslikeApple,Amazon,andGooglerequirewebsiteandappownerstopostaPrivacyPolicyagreementiftheyuseanyoftheirservices. Manywebsitesandappsusein-page/in-appadvertisingbythirdpartiestogeneraterevenue.Astheseadsalsocollectuserdata,thirdpartiesrequirethewebsitesorappstoasktheirusers'permissionforsharingtheirpersonaldata. Forexample,ifyou'reusingGoogleAnalyticsonyourwebsite,theGoogleAnalyticsTermsofServicerequiresthatyoupostaPrivacyPolicyagreement.Inadditiontothis,youmustalsodisclosethatyou'reusingGoogleAnalyticsandsomeinformationabouthowitcollectsandprocessesdata: IfyouareaGoogleappdeveloper,thePrivacyPolicyGuidancerequiresthatyouinformyourusersaboutwhatdatayoucollect,whyyoucollectit,andwhatyoudowithit. SomeofthemostpopularthirdpartyservicesrequirewebsiteandappownerstopostPrivacyPolicyagreementsontheirwebsites.Someoftheseservicesinclude: AmazonAffiliates ClickBank GooglePlayStore GoogleAnalytics GoogleAdSense GoogleAdWords FacebookApps TwitterLeadGeneration Apple'sAppStore ThirdpartyvendorslikeGoogle,Facebook,andAmazonrequiretheirusers(websiteandappowners)toexplicitlyinformtheirusersifthey'reusingadvertisingfeatures,cookies,ortrackingservicesontheirwebsites/appsinordertodeliverbetteruserexperiencesbasedonpriorbrowsingbehavior. Here'showOokla-afixedbroadbandandmobilenetworktestingcompany-informsitsusersinitsPrivacyPolicyagreementthatitusescookies,logfiles,flashcookies,localstorage,etc.,initswebsite-basedandmobileapplicationsinorderto(1)improveperformance,(2)tobetterunderstandhowOokla'ssoftwarefunctions,and(3)togivetheuserapersonalizedexperience. APrivacyPolicyForIncreasedTransparency Companieswhosebusinessmodelsrevolvearoundhandlingsensitivecustomerinformationfinditincrediblyimportanttoestablishtrustwiththeirusers.AclearandcomprehensivePrivacyPolicyagreementthattellsusersexactlywhatinformationthecompanycollectsandwhatitdoeswiththatinformationinspiresconfidenceinabusiness.Itgivesusersasenseofsecurityknowinghowmuchcontroltheyhaveovertheirpersonaldataundertheconditionstheysignupfor. YourPrivacyPolicyagreementshouldinformyourusersabouthowyourwebsiteorapphandlestheirpersonalinformation.Yourusersmustbealsobeinformedaboutthereasonforthecollectionofinformation,aswellashowlongtheirdatawillbestoredonyourservers. Evenifyoudon'tcollectpersonalinformation,youshoulddisclosethisfactinaPrivacyPolicy.IthelpswithtransparencybecauseusersexpecttoseeaPrivacyPolicy.Ifyoudon'thaveoneatall,usersmayassumeyou'recollectingalotofpersonalinformationandnotdisclosingitratherthannotcollectingany. TheDuckDuckGosearchenginedoesnottrackusersearchesorstoreonlinebrowsinghistoryinanyway.ItsPrivacyPolicyagreementstatesthatitdoesnotcollectorshareanyuserinformation. TomakeyourPrivacyPolicytransparentandaccurate,conductaprivacylawself-audit.Thiswillallowyoutofindoutwhatyourbusiness'privacypracticesareandwhatinformationyouneedtodisclosetoyourusersinaPrivacyPolicy. ExampleofaWebsitePrivacyPolicy Tobetransparentwithyourusersaboutwhatpersonalinformationyoucollectandwhatyoudowithit,youarerequiredtopublishaPrivacyPolicyagreementonyourwebsiteorgivein-appaccesstoit. WebsitesusuallypostalinktothecompletePrivacyPolicyagreementfromthefooterofthewebsite,whereasappsgenerallyaddthePrivacyPolicytoan"About"or"Legal"menu. Anotherpopularlocationforecommercestoreappsandwebsitesisthecheckoutpage,oraccountregistrationpageifyoudon'thaveanecommercecomponentbutallowuserstocreateaccounts. MediumlinksitsPrivacyPolicyagreementtoitswebsitefooter: TheformatandthemeofthePrivacyPolicyagreementisconsistentwiththerestofthewebsiteanddoesn'thaveanyanchornavigation. Itincludesthefollowingclauses: InformationWeCollect&HowWeUseIt InformationDisclosure PublicData DataStorage Third-PartyEmbed Tracking&Cookies ModifyingorDeletingYourPersonalInformation DataSecurity BusinessTransfers EmailfromMedium ChangestothisPolicy Questions There'salsoasectionthatspecificallyaddressesEUusersandincludesinformationrequiredbytheGDPRsuchas: Thelegalbasesforcollectingandprocessinginformation Whatthirdparties(likepaymentprocessors)Mediumengageswithandsharesdatawith Howlongdataisretained TherightsofEUdatasubjects Howtomakeasubjectaccessrequest ContactinformationforMedium'sEURepresentative IfyourcompanyhasusersintheEU,likeMediumdoes,you'llneedtoincludethistypeofinformationinyourPrivacyPolicytobecompliantwiththeGDPR. Nowlet'stakealookatsomeexamplesofspecificclausesyourPrivacyPolicyshouldhave. ExamplesofUsefulClausesforYourPrivacyPolicy YourPrivacyPolicymustbeaccurateandeasilycomprehensible,withallthenecessaryinformationrequiredbylawsandfortransparency. Generallyspeaking,everyPrivacyPolicyagreementshouldhaveatleastthefollowingclauses: Whatinformationiscollectedandhow Howistheinformationused Howistheinformationstoredandprotected Companycontactinformation Useofcookies,logfilesandtracking Howausercanoptoutofdatacollection/usage Here'seachoneinaction. WhatInformationisCollectedandHow PrivacyPolicyagreementsinformuserswhatinformationiscollectedfromthem.Thisincludesinformationusersvoluntarilyandactivelyprovidewhentheyregistertouseservices,aswellasinformationthatmaybecollectedfromthemautomatically,suchasthroughtheuseofcookies. Youcandefinehowyouclassifyinformatione.g.public,private,orpersonalinformation.ThishelpstheuserknowexactlywhatthesetermsmeansintherestofthePrivacyPolicydocument. Here'sanexampleofhowyoucanconstructaclausetoexplainthisinformationtoyourusers: ThePBSKidsPrivacyPolicyinformsuserswhatinformationitcollectsfromthem.Itdescribestheinformationitcollectsaswellasashortbutfurtherdetailedsectionaftereachtypeofinformationthatprovidesmoreinformation: HowtheInformationisUsed OneofthemainpurposesofPrivacyPolicyagreementsistoexplaintousershowtheinformationthebusinesscollectsisused. PinteresthasafairlylargesectiononWhatwedowiththeinfowecollectinitsPrivacyPolicyagreement.Initsfirstparagraph,itstatesthatthewebsiteusestheinformationtoprovideitsservicestoitsusers.Itgoesontoexplainafewdifferentwaysitusestheinformationincludingtoidentifyusers,processtheirtransactions,makerecommendations,andrespondtotheirquestionsandcomments. HowtheInformationisStoredandProtected AnotherimportantclausetoincludeinyourPrivacyPolicyagreementisabouthowyoustoreandprotecttheinformationyoucollectfromyoursite'svisitors.Youcanexplainthedifferentwaysyoustoreinformationandwhatmeasuresyoutaketoprotectthatinformation. Forexample,CaffeNero'sPrivacyPolicyagreementstatesthatuseraccountinformationisprotectedbyapasswordandexplainswhatstepsuserscantaketopreventunauthorizedaccesstotheiraccounts. Inadditiontothis,italsostatesthatthewebsitetakesstepstoensureasmuchsecurityaspossible,howeveritdoesn'tguaranteethatthemeasurestheytakewillpreventunauthorizedaccess: ShopifystatesinitsPrivacyPolicythatitfollowstheindustry'sstandardsoninformationsecuritymanagementtoprotectsensitiveuserinformation.Italsosaysthatthecompanyperformsauditsannuallytomakesurethatthehandlingofusercreditcardinformationisinlinewiththeindustryguidelines.Finally,itsaysthattheycannotguaranteetheabsolutesecurityoftheirusers'personalinformationsincenomethodoftransmissionovertheInternetis100%secure. CompanyContactInformation Asabusinessowner,it'simportantthatyouincludeyourcompany'scontactinformationinyourPrivacyPolicyagreement.Generally,contactinformationisaddedattheendofthePrivacyPolicyandcontainsaphysical(street)address,emailaddress,and/orphonenumber.Themorecontactinformationthatyoucanprovide,thebetter. TheBritishHeartFoundationprovidesaContactclausethatincludesamailingaddressaswellasanemailaddressforgettingintouch: UseofCookies,LogFilesandTracking Websitesandappsusecookiestostoreuserinformation,provideuserswithpersonalizedexperiencesandcollecttheirusers'webhistory.Otherwebsitesmaymakeotherusesofcookiesandmayevenchoosetogivethirdpartiesaccesstothosecookies.YourPrivacyPolicyshoulddisclosethis. Inanycase,websiteownersarerequiredtoinformtheirusersaboutthetoolsthecompanyusestocollectuserinformationandtracktheirbehavior,includingcookies. Here'salookathowDiscordaddressescookiesusageinitsPrivacyPolicy: Mostwebsitesandappownersuselogfilestoautomaticallycollectandstoreinformationabouttheirusers'IPaddress,browser,data/timeetc.anduseitfordifferentpurposes. Here'showAWeberexplainshowitusestheinformationcollectedfromvisitorsusinglogfilesinitsPrivacyPolicyagreement: Notehowitusessimpledescriptionsandcleartermstodescribetheuseofthesefiles,whichishelpfulsincemostpeoplelikelyhavenoideawhatthesetypesoffilesareactuallytheretodo. Opt-OutPolicyClause Appsandwebsitesshouldinformtheircustomersabouttheirrighttooptoutofcertainaspectsorservicesofferedbyawebsite. Forever21'sPrivacyPolicy,forinstance,informscustomersabouttheirrighttooptoutofanyofthecompany'sservices. Notehowtheclauseisbrokenupintomanyshortpartswithsimple,clearinstructionsforeachmethodofoptingout. FAQonPrivacyPolicies DoIneedaPrivacyPolicy? Mostlikely,yes.APrivacyPolicyisbothrequiredbylaw(US,Europe,Canadaandmanyothercountries)butit'salsorequiredbythirdpartyservicesorprovidersthatyourwebsiteorappmayuse(suchasGoogleAnalytics). WhatlawsrequiremetohaveaPrivacyPolicy? Therearemultipleprivacylawsrequiringallbusinesses,websitesorappstohaveaPrivacyPolicy: CCPAandCalOPPAintheUS(California) GDPRinEurope(allmemberstates) PIPEDAinCanada DPAintheUK AndmanymoreprivacylawsfromothercountriessuchasAustralia,SouthKorea,SouthAfrica WhatshouldIwriteinmyPrivacyPolicy? HerearesomeusefulclausesthatyoucanwriteinyourPrivacyPolicy: Whatpersonalinformationyoucollectandhow Howthecollectedpersonalinformationisused Informationoncookiesandothertrackers Yourcontact&companyinformation Conclusion Regardlessofwhetheryouownawebsiteorappthatcollects,processes,and/orstoresuserinformation,youhavecertainresponsibilitiestoyourusers.Themostprimaryresponsibilitiesonyourpartasawebsiteowneraretokeeptheirpersonaldatasecure,protecttheirprivacytothebestofyourability,andtokeeptheminformedabouthowtheirdatawillbestoredandprocessedbyprovidingaPrivacyPolicy. KeepyourPrivacyPolicyaccurateandup-to-dateandsendoutPrivacyPolicyUpdateNoticeswhenappropriate. Ifyourwebsite,webapp,mobileapp,ordesktopappcollectsanysortofpersonaldatafromitsendusersthenchancesarethatyou'rerequiredeitherbythelaworbythird-partyservicestopostaPrivacyPolicyagreementtoyourwebsite/app. Asawebsiteowner,youneedtobeawareof: Theprivacylawsinthejurisdictionyourbusinessisbasedoutofandwhereyourusersarelocated. TheTermsofServicerequirementsofthirdpartyservicesyourwebsiteisassociatedwith. MariaPirzada PrivacyPolicies.comLegalwriter Lastupdatedon25August2022 Legalinformation,legaltemplatesandlegalpoliciesarenotlegaladvice.Pleasereadthedisclaimer. 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