Confused about Website Privacy Policies, Legal Disclaimers, Cookies Policies and Terms & Conditions? If so, then this blog post is for you!
Privacy policy basics
Website privacy policies cover how your company collects and uses customer information. For instance, it’s important to let customers know if you sell their information or share it with third parties. Privacy policies also cover what happens if a customer wants to cancel their account and how long data is stored after cancellation.
Cookies are small pieces of code embedded in a website that can store information on your computer or mobile device. Cookies are used for many reasons, such as remembering if someone has visited the site before and what they put in their shopping cart. Cookies policies cover how long cookies last and whether any third parties place them on your devices to track browsing habits across multiple sites (also known as “cookie syncing”).
Terms & conditions apply when you sign up for an account with a company online. They outline specific rules about how you use the service, including details like where data is stored, who gets access to it and under what circumstances it’s allowed (or not) to be shared with others outside of this agreement.
Data policies describe how companies collect and use that data. Data policies cover how long you store customer information, whether or not third parties can access that info and what happens if a company goes out of business or is acquired by another company.
Legal disclaimers are the final part of the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. They are designed to limit a company’s liability should something go wrong.
Putting it all together
At DecemberPress, we take a holistic view of website privacy policies, and so should you. Privacy Policies, Cookies Policies, Legal Disclaimers and Terms & Conditions should complement each other.
The Privacy Policy is a legal document that protects your customers’ data from being used by unauthorized parties. After all, you only want the people who have given clear consent to be able to see their personal information or track them online across multiple websites – not just anyone. When developing an effective Privacy Policy for your website, it’s important to keep in mind two key points: Privacy should be the default setting, and privacy policies must be easy to understand.
To write a privacy policy for your website, first, identify the kind of data you collect from your customers, and why. Privacy policies typically include a company’s contact information as well as disclaimers that outline how customer data is used – generally to provide specific services or products they have requested.
Privacy policies cover a wide range of topics including:
- How companies use their customer’s personal information
- Whether third parties can access your customers’ personal information
- What happens if a customer wants to cancel his/her account?
Although many consider this document tedious work, it’s important for protecting both you and your clients. Privacy Policies should be clear about what users are agreeing to when giving out their private data (for example, age restrictions). Privacy Policy varies depending on country and state laws but generally Privacy Policies should:
- Only collect data necessary for providing the service or product they need
- Be updated when there are any changes in site functionality, ownership, and customer information usage
- Clearly identify a company’s personal contact details on its Privacy Policy page so that customers can get access to them quickly without having to search through several pages of documentation
Simple privacy policy page language
“We are committed to protecting your Privacy. We use the information you provide about yourself when placing an order only to complete that order. We do not share this information with outside parties except to the extent necessary to complete that order (For example, we may need to share your address in order for FedEx or USPS shipping companies). Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns regarding our Privacy policy contact us here: [insert your address and phone number].”
To write a terms and conditions policy, you need to be clear about the terms and conditions in which users are agreeing upon. The policy should clearly outline what Terms & Conditions govern your site, including any provisions that prohibit you or others from abusing it for illegal purposes.
Simple terms & conditions page language
“Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our Privacy Policy govern [insert your business name or blog here]’s relationship with you in relation to this website.”
Simple legal disclaimer page language
“All of the information on this website is published in good faith and for general informational purposes only. [Insert your business name or blog here] makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All content provided on this weblog is provided “as-is” with no warranty express or implied.”
Cookies Opt-In/Out
You know those pop-ups you see on lots of websites that ask you to agree to a cookies policy? That’s the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) opt-in. While it may seem complicated, its purpose is simple. The European Union takes internet privacy more seriously than the United States.
If you have a European audience or do business with EU residents, you must ask visitors if they will permit your cookies to be embedded in your browser. You must also provide an accurate list of your cookies with a clear description of its function and how long it will remain in your browser.
A typical European Union GDPR-compliant cookie tool.
Users can control their own privacy settings with a properly designed cookies opt-in tool.By clicking “accept all cookies,” the website visitor is giving you consent to insert cookies into their browser. By refusing to accept cookies, the visitor may not experience the website as you intended. For instance, a shopping cart will not work, a user may have difficulty logging into a site’s services, and certain features may not work as intended.
Still, it’s best practice, even in the United States, where cookies policies are not required (yet), to provide full control over the cookies you intend to insert into a visitor’s browser.
Data and Privacy Policies are the law in a growing number of states. Failure to disclose your policies puts you in potential legal jeopardy in a complex landscape of national, state and local jurisdictions.
The best way to protect yourself is to have a professional generate the policies and place them on your site.
Services, like those offered by DecemberPress, are updated as international, national and state privacy rules change – sometimes on a monthly basis.
DecemberPress will create dynamic policies to put your visitors at ease. Our service includes dynamic cookies opt-ins and automatically updated privacy language that reflects the latest in United States, European an Australian standards.