The Internet is known for the fact that people often leave their personal data on it, which unscrupulous site owners can use for personal gain. And even if this information is minimal, the very fact that the mailbox is full of spam with a wide variety of offers suggests that the privacy policy on some site is a little lame.
Legal basis
Not so long ago, the privacy policy for a website was something completely incomprehensible and optional. But the legislative framework has changed the view on the privacy of personal data of Internet users.
Today, there are laws that regulate the activities of most resources that work with personal information. In Ukraine, this is the law "On the Protection of Personal Data", in the Russian Federation - "On Personal Data". These regulatory documents establish that any personal information collected, including by sites, should not fall to third parties.
In addition, the resource is obliged to inform for what purpose the information is being collected, how it will be used and howthe owner will protect it from getting to third parties. This document, referred to as the “Data Privacy Policy”, must be published in an accessible form and in a conspicuous place so that anyone who accesses the site can read it before leaving any information about themselves.
What data is covered by the privacy policy?
Let's answer right away: everything. On the Internet, people leave a variety of information about themselves during registration on sites: from name to card number or bank account. All this is considered secret information that should not fall into the hands of third parties. And if everything is not so scary with the name, since you can’t check it in any way, then bank details are secret information, the disclosure of which can cause financial losses for the user.
When collecting any data about a person visiting your site, remember that the name, surname, patronymic, address, date of birth, and even the name of the dog is secret information that a person shares with you in order to get what you offer up to the mark service. If such information falls into third hands, the credibility of your resource drops. In addition, this may lead to a lawsuit for the disclosure of confidential data.
Why collect information?
The Internet is replete with many interesting sites, but a person often loses an interesting resource, barely closing the tab in the browser. To prevent this from happening, site owners collect visitor data to periodicallyRemind yourself with news and interesting promotional offers. Google's privacy policy is an example of how to integrate multiple resources owned by the same company. So, leaving their personal data, the user will meet them on related sites. This is done in order to meet the needs of people as much as possible.
Retaining visitors and satisfying their needs - for these purposes, sites collect email addresses and names. In online stores, everything is a little more complicated, since a person will need to complete a financial transaction. Therefore, more data will be required here, but the privacy policy for the site should also be stricter.
Document drafting rules
First of all, it should be clear that a privacy policy is a legal document that has undergone expert analysis by specialized specialists, confirming the right of the site owner to collect, process and store personal data of Internet users.
Therefore, the preparation of the document carries a great responsibility and must be strictly adhered to by the rules. Fortunately, there are no clear regulations on what and how to write. But there are still some features.
The style of presentation should be formal business as it is a legal document that can be taken into consideration even in legal proceedings. All information must be presented in a clear and understandable language. A correct document is one that does not contain any ambiguous or misunderstoodwording.
A good privacy policy for a site, a sample of which should be familiar to the owner of any Internet resource, is concise and not voluminous. It is not necessary to paint to the smallest detail how personal information will be processed and stored. But shortening important points is also not recommended.
Stages of compilation
To ensure that your privacy policy, the text of which is located on the site, is understandable and logical, first study the legal framework to know what you are en titled to and what it is better to refrain from.
Samples of this document are best viewed on authoritative resources owned by serious companies. The fact is that they are required by state to have a lawyer who draws up such documents.
Write down all the items that you need to include in the document. At the same time, at the initial stage, try to do this without prompts and outside help. Clearly describe when and how you will use the data received, how a person can require you to destroy information about yourself.
It is important to indicate your responsibility if the information suddenly gets to third parties. It’s also better to include a clause about what will happen to the data if the site is sold. If you use third-party resources, such as payment systems, for example, do not forget to mention this as well, since your users' data will also need to be indicated there.
Reread the finished document and check it against the samples, correct it and publish it onmost prominently on the site.
Qualified help
Of course, specialized lawyers know best what a privacy policy is. If your resource requires the collection of a large amount of information about customers, it is recommended that you contact them for help. For a simple site, a standard document is enough to ensure that the user's name and email address do not fall into the hands of third parties. For online stores and serious portals, it is better to play it safe from all sides, especially if you have to deal with rather personal information. Lawyers will quickly and easily create such a document that will affect all areas of your activity, make sure that there are no ambiguous expressions and gaps in the privacy policy.
By paying once to a professional, you guarantee yourself an absolutely legal activity related to customer databases. And user confidence will increase in the company that has a real document, and not a note like “I won’t tell anyone. Honestly, honestly!”.
Conversion & Privacy Policy
Even the simplest privacy policy, a sample of which is on every site, helps to increase the conversion of a resource if it is well-written. These are the results of a study by one of the marketers who is testing landing pages. He found that expressing assurances that personal information would not be shared with third parties or misused increased people's trust by almost20 %. On a scale of several thousand visitors a day, this is not a small indicator at all.
But, mentioning the guarantee of non-disclosure of data, you should avoid words with negative connotations. In the study, it was the word "spam". After seeing it, almost 19% of people refused to leave their data on the site.
Guaranteeing the safety of personal data always increases the credibility of the site. This is very important, because the Internet is a place where there are a lot of scammers, and it is not so easy to prove to people that the site is honest.
Who needs this document?
Ideally, everyone should have a privacy policy for the site. A sample drawn up by a competent lawyer will become the basis of a document that is a guarantee of user safety. But first of all, online stores and social networks that have large databases should take care of it. Also, one should not forget about the document to information and educational resources, for which a very important element of activity is sending by e-mail. Simple sites can do without a privacy policy only if they do not collect information. Otherwise, you can run into a lawsuit.
Legal Consequences
To be fair, the privacy policy is the deadliest section of any website. Only a few users read it before taking any action. But it is very important because it insures the ownerresource from possible litigation.
Many samples have a clause indicating that the person automatically agrees to the terms of the document at the moment when he sends his data to you. If there is no document at all on the site regulating your activities with personal information, this means that its owner can be sued for disclosing this very information. Therefore, by publishing the terms of the privacy policy on the site, you assure users that you will treat their data responsibly, and at the same time insure yourself against unnecessary red tape.
