The digital world can be a great place, full of opportunities, which allows us to do so much. However, in this world of technology, there are also many risks to the individuals’ privacy when online. As an internet user, it is important that you understand how your information is obtained, used, and stored to avoid it being shared publicly or stolen.
As a business owner, you are likely to have a website in order to promote your company and/or sell your products, making it imperative that you are aware of what website privacy entails and what is required of you. Issues with sensitive information being stolen, either about your company or your customers, can have significant impacts on your business and of course, on your clients too. The best way to ensure that you avoid these problems is to be prepared and prevent them.
In this article, we will advise you of all you need to know about website privacy, with an emphasis on privacy policy, so that you can safely surf the internet or protect your customers when visiting your online page.
WHAT IS A WEBSITE PRIVACY?
As mentioned previously, when on the internet, it is likely that your personal information may be collected. Individuals using the internet usually try to improve online privacy by installing anti-virus software on their devices, having strong passwords, turning off tracking, and selecting strict privacy settings. Although, not everyone is aware of how to accomplish this, they risk a range of different issues, including identity theft. Every website should have a privacy policy available to visitors in order to inform them of how their data will be used.
WHAT IS A PRIVACY POLICY?
A privacy policy, as mentioned above, should be made available on every website so that visitors understand what data may be collected and what will be done with it. This data usually includes people’s names, email and postal addresses, IP addresses, phone numbers, and financial information. Considering the serious risks associated with the theft of data online, it is important that this policy is available to customers so that they understand how to seek legal action against a company should they fail to meet their duties of data protection.
DO I NEED A PRIVACY POLICY?
If you have a website that collects any type of personal data (as per above), you have the responsibility of making sure this data is used wisely and is secure. You are required by law to have a privacy policy in place in most countries in the world, and you should ensure that this is visible to visitors on your website so that they can easily find it, read it, and agree to it before sharing their data.
HOW TO CREATE A WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY?
You must create a privacy policy as part of your website, which you can even include as an attachment to your terms and conditions agreement for those using your website. Like we discussed above, you may wish to follow a standard template that can be used by any company, however, it is important to note that your policy must be unique and reflect the individuality of your business. It is recommended you use a generator for privacy policy, particularly as they may ask you specific questions around your business and it will be customized to you. You must be specific with your privacy policy and create something that is specifically designed for your company.
WHAT TO INCLUDE IN A PRIVACY POLICY?
The exact privacy policy you design for your website will depend on what you are collecting and how you will use the data specifically. Privacy policies may differ from website to website, however, they should all have the very core principles in common. Some of the basic elements to input on this policy include:
- Precisely what information you will be collecting from website visitors, which may include names, physical or e-mail addresses, IP addresses, telephone numbers, and location tracking (be specific!)
- If you use cookies on your webpage, make sure visitors are aware of this and agree to it before navigating through your page.
- How any personal data will be gathered as well as by whom, in the case where it is being gathered by a third-party.
- How you intend on using the information collected, and whether this will be shared with a third party.
- How sensitive data is secure from misuse or unauthorized access.
- Offer the ability to opt-out of data sharing, explain how this can be done as well as what the potential consequences of doing this.
Website privacy is crucial, as people may be sharing very personal and confidential information online. It is important, as someone running a website, that you make people aware of any data being collected and ensure that this is always secure in order to avoid legal action being taken against you and so that customers can happily navigate through your website without being worried.
