Privacy & Cookies Policy
A Privacy Policy is a legal statement found on a website or app that outlines explicit details on how it will use personal data provided by users. Such personal data may include details like names, addresses, phone numbers, date of birth or data related to one’s financial information like credit card details.
Other than outlining how your website will use the data, a Privacy Policy also describes the legal obligations you have if you fail to meet stipulated responsibilities as the website owner.
As a business owner who’s considering putting up a website, this article will give you a basic understanding of why you need to have a Privacy Policy and how you should incorporate one.
As part of an array of privacy laws available across the globe, if your website will collect user information, you are legally required to have a Privacy Policy in place.
If you are a resident member of the EU, having a Privacy Policy shows compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR). Failure to comply with this EU regulation can lead to a fine of up to 20 million Euros according to Intersoft Consulting.
The U.S., on the other hand, doesn’t have a singular governing data protection legislation. Rather, the U.S. uses a combination of related data privacy laws at the federal and state level.
For instance, the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA) empowers the Federal Trade Commission to enforce privacy and data protection laws in federal jurisdiction. On the other hand, the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA) is one such data privacy law which protects users with residency in California.
A Privacy Policy also instils trust into users that their information is safe from unrelated parties. If not, you might be liable to legal repercussions. In general, a Privacy policy further legitimises your business by ensuring all the parties involved are part of a legally binding agreement.
Having a strong Privacy Policy also offers a substantial competitive advantage. We don’t precisely understand how Google’s search algorithm works, but the biggest consensus is that if Google trusts your business, the higher your chances of appearing on its first search results pages.
According to Woorank, most SEO experts believe that a website’s privacy policy has a pivotal role to play in how Google and other search engines ultimately identify you as “trust-worthy.”