A website or an application can collect data of users visiting their website, no matter what is the purpose of their website is. Users may feel insecure or inappropriate visiting your website, just because of privacy reasons. Here, a Privacy Policy can help you get rid of such a situation. With the privacy policy document, you can clarify your website or application, or the company’s view on data collection.
What is the purpose of a Privacy Policy?
A privacy policy is a legal declaration or document that explains how a company gathers, handles, processes, and respects the personal data of its customers when they visit a website or use an app. To guarantee that its customers or website visitors understand what personal data the organization gathers and how the company will use that information, most privacy policies employ clear and explicit language. It is also referred to as a Privacy Notice, Privacy Page, Privacy Statement, or Privacy Information in other contexts. Any digital media that collects user data, such as websites, e-commerce sites, blogs, web apps, mobile applications, and desktop programs, must have a privacy policy in place to protect the information of users. A privacy policy is one of the most crucial agreements on any website, and it should be read carefully. It outlines your organization’s policies and processes regarding the information gathered from visitors. Even though a privacy policy is legally a legal document, great care should be taken to design a document that is both factual and easy to understand; concealing secret provisions inside reams of words is not acceptable in this context. You can have a look at our privacy policy page, and have a glance how the privacy policy document or page looks like.
What Kind of Information Do You Gather?
Your company’s digital client visits generate a variety of different types of information, which is generally determined by the purpose of your website or app and your industry. Personal information acquired digitally includes the following types of information:
First and last names The mailing address The billing address Email address Phone number Age Sex Relationship status Nationality Religious views Information about your credit card, etc.
Occasionally, additional information may be collected that is particular to client behaviors on the website. Consider the following scenario: if your website allows users to share images, comment on posts, or like other users’ information, you may also gather all of that information as well.
Key sections of the privacy policy document
Introduction
This part can provide your visitor with a brief overview of your company, as well as any unique information or features that your website may provide. It is important to specify explicitly in this area whether your website has any specific requirements for collecting information from minors (for example, if they are under the age of 16).
Information Collected
Visitors have a right to know what information you are collecting about them, and you must provide them with that information. If you ask someone to fill out a form, it may be evident that you are gathering personal information about them, but you should make this transparent. Information logged by your servers, such as hostnames and IP addresses, should also be included in your report.
Method of Collection
This section describes the procedures you followed to gather the information. Is everything automated? Do the forms that visitors fill out capture any additional information, such as the referrer that directed them to the site? All of these questions will assist you in developing a thorough description of the information-gathering process.
Information Storage
How is the information kept safe and secure? It is possible that if you keep information in a database and you are based in the United Kingdom, you will be required to register with the government under the Data Protection Act of 1998. If your servers are located in the European Union, you will be required to get authorization before transmitting data outside of the union, even if the data is only sent inside your organization. Visitors have a right to be certain that you will make every attempt to keep their personal information safe and secure.
Contact details
It’s critical to be as open as possible and to make it easy for people to get in touch with you if they have a question. You should include both an email address (or an online form) as well as a physical location where a user may write to express themselves.
Conclusion
A Privacy Policy is not only the legally necessary document that discloses your policies for protecting personal information, but it is also a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate to users that you can be trusted and that you have systems in place to treat their personal information with care.