The Internet is known for the fact that people often leave their personal data in it, which dishonest website owners can use for personal gain. And even if this information is minimal, but the 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 the site 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 working 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 established that any personal information collected including by sites should not be shared with third parties.
In addition, the resource is obliged to inform for what purpose the information is being collected, how it will be used and how the owner will protect it from getting into third parties. This document, called the “Data Privacy Policy”, must be published in an accessible form and in a visible place so that everyone who visits the site can familiarize themselves with it before leaving any information about themselves.
What data is covered by the privacy policy?
We will answer right away: for everything. On the Internet, people leave a variety of information about themselves on the websites during registration: 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 the name is not all that scary, because you can’t verify it in any way, then the bank details are secret information, the disclosure of which can cause financial losses on the part of the user.
When collecting any information about a person visiting your site, remember that the name, surname, patronymic, address, date of birth and even the dog’s nickname is secret information that the person shares with you in order to get the service you offer. If such information falls into third parties, the credibility of your resource falls. In addition, this may lead to a lawsuit for the disclosure of confidential data.
Why do we need information collection?
The Internet is replete with many interesting sites, but people often lose an interesting resource by barely closing a tab in their browser. To prevent this from happening, site owners collect data about visitors to periodically remind themselves of news and interesting promotional offers. Google’s privacy policy is an example of how to integrate multiple resources belonging to the same company. So, leaving your personal data, the user will meet them on related sites. This is done in order to satisfy the needs of people as much as possible.
Retention of visitors and satisfaction of 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 is required here, but the privacy policy for the site should be stricter.
Rules for compiling a document
To begin with, it should be understood that the 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 drafting of the document carries a great responsibility and must be adhered to strictly according to the rules. Fortunately, clear standards for what and how to write are not dictated by laws. But there are still some features.
The presentation style should be formal business, as it is a legal document that can be taken into consideration even in litigation. It is worth submitting all the information in a clear and understandable language. The correct document is one in which there are no ambiguous or not entirely clear language.
A good privacy policy for the site, a sample of which should be familiar to the owner of any Internet resource, is concise and not voluminous. You should not write down to the smallest detail how personal information will be processed and stored. But also to reduce important points is also not recommended.
Compilation steps
In order for your privacy policy, the text of which is located on the site, to be understandable and logical, first study the legal framework in order to know what you are entitled to and what 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 supposed to have a lawyer in their staff who draws up such documents.
Write down all the points of what you need to indicate in the document. In this case, at the initial stage, try to do this without prompts and outside help. Clearly describe when and how you will use the data, how a person may require you to destroy information about yourself.
It is important to indicate your responsibility, if suddenly the information gets to third parties. It is also better to include an item on what will happen to the data in the event of a sale of the site. If you use third-party resources, such as payment systems, for example, do not forget to mention this, since there you will also need to indicate the data of your users.
Reread the finished document and check it with the samples, correct and publish it in a most visible place on the site.
Qualified assistance
Of course, they know best of all what is a privacy policy, specialized lawyers. If your resource requires the collection of a large amount of information about customers, it is recommended to turn to them for help. For a simple site, a standard document is sufficient, which ensures that the username and email address do not fall into the hands of third parties. For online stores and serious portals, it is better to be safe from all sides, especially if you have to deal with pretty personal information. Lawyers will quickly and without problems create a document that will affect all areas of your business, make sure that there are no ambiguous expressions and gaps in the privacy policy.
By paying once to a professional, you guarantee yourself absolutely legitimate activities related to the personal databases of clients. Yes, and user confidence will increase to the company that has this document, and not a note like “I will not tell anyone. Honestly!".
Conversion and privacy policy
Even the simplest privacy policy, a model of which is on every site, helps to increase the conversion of the resource, if it is correctly composed. 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 and not used for other purposes increased people's confidence by almost 20%. On the scale of several thousand visitors a day, this is not at all a small indicator.
But, mentioning the guarantee of non-disclosure of data, you should avoid words with negative associations. In the study, it was the word "spam." Seeing him, almost 19% of people refused to leave their data on the site.
The guarantee of 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 many scammers, and to prove to people that the site is honest is not so simple.
Who needs this document?
Ideally, everyone should have a privacy policy for the site. A sample compiled by a competent lawyer will become the basis of the document, which is a guarantee of user safety. But first of all, it is worth taking care of online stores and social networks that have large databases. Also, one should not forget about the document for informational and educational resources, for which a very important element of activity is the distribution 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.
