Whether you own a website, blog or eCommerce store you may find yourself wondering, do I need a privacy policy?

The short answer is, if you collect personal data from your readers or users in any form, then yes you do need a privacy policy. The three most important reasons you will require a privacy policy are:

1. It is a legal requirement of international privacy laws.
2. It is a requirement of a third party service you are using. (an example is Google Analytics)
3. It builds trust and shows respect for your users privacy

Let's delve a little deeper into these 3 reasons that you are going to need a privacy policy.

1. It's a Legal Requirement of International Privacy Laws

A privacy policy is a legal requirement of most countries, when personal data is being collected and stored. There are a multitude of ways that you may be collecting data from your users. Some examples are : your website uses cookies, you collect email address for monthly newsletters or to advise when you are running a sale or when your next blog post is out, you collect personal details to send goods to your customers, or you collect financial information for payment.

Here are a list of some of the major international privacy laws, which require a privacy policy to be accessible to users and customers once you are collecting personal data:

• Australia: Australian Privacy Act 1988
• Canada: PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act)
• Europe: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• India: PDPB (Personal Data Protection Bill ), not yet enforceable
• South Africa: POPI Act (Protection of Personal Information Act
• United Kingdom: Data Protection Act 2018
• USA: CalOPPA (California Online Privacy Protection Act)
  • COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Act)
  • CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)

A number of the above mentioned privacy laws are not only applicable to the businesses that are operating within that country but also to any that are serving users and customers in those regions. For example, a website that is located in California and has users in Australia, Canada and the European Union, will be required to adhere to CalOPPA, COPPA and CCPA as well as GDPR, Australian Privacy Act and PIPEDA. Having a privacy policy in place that covers these laws is essential.

2. It is a Requirement of a Third Party Service you are Using

Running an online business or website often requires you to use third party tools or services. For example most websites run analytics in order for them to track the traffic that comes to the website and the behaviour of that traffic. Websites and blogs often use advertising as a way of creating revenue and also affiliate links. All of these services require that your website, blog or eCommerce store have a privacy policy in place. Lets take a closer look at some of the third party services that require a privacy policy as part of their terms and conditions of use.

Google

Google provide a number of services and tools that are used by many, many websites, blogs and online stores. The following all requires that you have a privacy policy in place:

• Google Analytics
• Google Adsense

• Google Ads
• Google Play Store

Analytics

Apart from Google Analytics there are a number of other analytics tools that also require a privacy policy to be in place:

• Adobe Analytics
• Clicky Analytics
• Hotjar

• Kissmetrics

• Matamo

3. It Builds Trust and Shows Respect for Your Users Privacy

Apart from the fact that having a privacy policy on your website is a legal requirement, it also shows your users that you take data privacy seriously. A privacy policy shows respect for your users privacy and sensitive data.

Your privacy policy will need to include the following:

• what personal data you collect from your users
• how the personal data is collected
• how the personal data will be used
• if you use cookies on your site then disclosing this and how your users can opt out of them
• disclosing third party tools or services you use and what information is shared with them
• how you secure personal data
• where personal data is stored

Conclusion

A privacy policy is a legal requirement of a number of international privacy laws, third party tools and services as well as being a sign of respect as to how you handle your users personal data.

The privacyterms.io privacy policy generator will generate a privacy policy customized for your specific business or blog requirements. They are GDPR, CalOPPA, COPPA,CCPA,PIPED, and Australian Privacy Act compliant.