Do You Really Need a Privacy Policy for Your Website?

Ask yourself this:  do you ever bother to visit a website’s tab labeled “privacy policy,” even when it’s right there, on the site’s home page?  Most likely, the answer is no.  So why then should you bother to invest your precious time and internet real estate on a post explaining your own website’s privacy policy?  Is having a privacy policy on your site’s home page really that important?

The simple answer is yes, absolutely!  

A well-conceived privacy policy not only protects your users, but also your company and your website.  The question then becomes, what should you include in your website’s privacy policy?
If you actively collect data from your visitors, such as an newsletter sign-up form, then you must announce this in your privacy policy, however redundant this may seem.  You also need to state what you will do — or more importantly, what you promise not to do — with their personal information.  But what if you don’t have an email submission box on your website?  Are you then exempt from this disclosure?  

The simple answer is no, you are not!

For instance, do you use an analytics program, such as Google’s?  Most webmasters do, and that constitutes user information collection, however indirectly.

There are basic elements that should be included in every website privacy policy:

• Basic Terms & Conditions (note that any changes to these must be posted immediately)
• Notice of User Consent
• Description of the Information Collected 
• Explanation of How that Information is Used
• Contact Information with E-mail Address & Phone Number (should the user have privacy questions or concerns)

While it is fine to borrow the basic language of another website’s policy when formulating your own, it is crucial that you tailor it so that it reflects your site’s own, unique policy.  It is a good idea to check with the privacy policy requirements of any advertising and affiliate programs your site employs, to ensure you’ve covered your bases.

As with most legal documentation, you may only need that website policy once in a blue moon, if ever.  But, like an insurance policy, come the one time you do need it, it will be there to protect your users, your business, and your site!