If you collect personal information from visitors to your business website or mobile app, then it’s simple: You need to have your own, accessible privacy policy.
Privacy policies for websites and mobile apps are obligatory in many countries and are aimed at protecting consumers and their personal information.
To help you get started with creating your own comprehensive privacy policy, we’ll cover:
- What a privacy policy is and what exactly should be included in one
- The pros and cons of using a privacy policy generator
- Where to put a privacy policy on your website
- The best privacy policy generator tools
What Is a Privacy Policy?
A privacy policy is a legal statement that lets your website visitors know exactly which functional, statistical, or marketing data your website collects, and how this data is protected. It also gives users details about whether their information is kept confidential, shared with certain partners, or sold to other entities.
Privacy policies are a necessity since laws like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), or California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) mandate that your website or mobile app users are notified when you’re collecting their personal information.
What Should Be Included in a Privacy Policy?
Since countries and states have different legislation, your privacy policy should be tailored to your business, including where you operate and what type of business you run.
Depending on the complexity of your business operations, you may want to consult a lawyer to help you construct your privacy policy. For example, if you’re an e-commerce business with customers around the world, you might benefit from legal assistance to ensure everything you need is included in your privacy policy.
Standard Elements of a Privacy Policy
There are some standard elements that all privacy policies should include:
- Details and disclosure on the type of user information you collect and use, such as names, addresses, mobile telephone numbers, and email addresses
- How and why you use the data you collect, such as addresses for shipping, contact details for customer service, user behavior for analytics, and emails for email marketing.
- How you store and maintain user data
- The legal basis for the collection of user data ― although this relates more to the European Union (EU)-based GDPR, you still need to disclose why you’re processing personal data
- Disclosure on whether you share user data and with who you share it with, which includes any parent companies and subsidiaries, and whether you’re required to disclose user data in compliance with certain laws
- Which third parties have access to user data, such as social media buttons and integrations
- The rights of the user regarding their data, which includes whether they can request to see what data you have and can request that you erase or amend their data, which is mandatory under EU law.
- How you inform users of any changes to the privacy policy
Should You Use a Privacy Policy Generator?
Privacy policy generators have become popular as a way to simplify and streamline what can be a complicated process. However, there are both pros and cons of using them as a solution to your privacy policy needs that you’ll need to consider before you begin.
Pros
- They can be a cost-effective alternative to hiring a lawyer.
- Privacy policy generator templates can give you a great basis on which to start crafting your privacy policy before you customize it to your business
- Many privacy policy generators offer free hosting and downloads of the policy
- Some privacy policy generators send you alerts when there are new laws you need to consider
Cons
- Privacy policy generators are run by technology companies, not legal service providers
- Ultimately, you’re responsible for correctly wording your privacy policy, which entails incorporating every legal requirement that applies to you; for this reason, it might often be easier to consult a legal professional
- Many templates don’t cover everything you need, which means you’ll have to upgrade to a premium pricing tier
Where Should You Put the Privacy Policy on Your Small Business Website?
While there’s no rule that determines where you need to place your privacy policy on your website, you need to ensure that users can access it quickly, and also that they can read it before they make the decision to continue using your website or service.
You have several options for where to place your privacy policy:
- Footer links
- Landing page
- Sign-up forms
- Checkout pages
What Are Some of the Best Privacy Policy Generators?
Privacy policy generators can be useful tools in helping you craft your own privacy policy for your business’s website.
However, remember that a good privacy policy generator allows you to customize your privacy policy to suit your needs, and also help you understand which privacy laws are applicable to your business.
TermsFeed
TermsFeed offers generation of a free, basic privacy policy with limited clauses for websites, apps, e-commerce stores, Facebook apps, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps.
There are additional charges if you use Google Analytics ― or other visitor tracking tools ― collect social media data, sell products online, show ads, use invisible reCAPTCHA, advertise through remarketing services, or show ads on your website. Plus, specific language that covers the CCPA, GDPR, and POPIA comes at an additional cost.
TermsFeed doesn’t charge recurring fees. Instead, you’ll be charged a one-time fee for the creation of a privacy policy that suits your business:
Source: TermsFeed
PrivacyPolicies.com
Instead of templates, PrivacyPolicies.com creates custom privacy policies for each user, detailing factors such as your industry type, where you operate, and the technology you use. They also host your privacy policy for free.
While its basic privacy policy offering is free, its extra features come at an additional cost. However, there are no recurring costs ― you’ll only pay a one-time fee:
Source: PrivacyPolicies.com
GetTerms
GetTerms offers a free and comprehensive privacy policy and has been designed with a wide range of websites, mobile apps, SaaS applications, e-commerce sites, and news and blogs sites in mind.
Users can also choose from two other pricing packages. While the free plan offers a basic privacy policy, their Standard privacy policy option covers logging, cookies, third-party, and users’ rights and responsibilities over their personal information.
The Comprehensive package offers enhanced options for additional customizations for device data, user-generated content, and promotional content.
Source: GetTerms
Privacy Policy Generators: What To Do Next
Privacy policy generators are a great starting place for those who haven’t been through the process before.
However, if you choose to use a privacy policy generator, you’ll need to make sure that you choose one with extra features that allow you to customize it to your unique business.
We also recommend that you seek advice from a legal representative with experience in privacy law to make sure your business is completely covered.
Do you want to get started with your privacy policy generator search? Start here with our comprehensive guide: 12 Best Privacy Policy Generators That Won’t Cost You a Cent.