5 reasons you need a privacy policy
A privacy policy is needed for a number of reasons, from being required by law to just being the right thing to do, to be a good digital neighbor.
Your privacy policy should be short, clear, and thorough. Avoid complicated language to ensure that your users understand what’s going on. It needs to outline all of the personal information you collect and what you plan to do with it. The clearer your policy is for your users, the fewer problems you will run into from misinterpretations.
Reason #1: It’s required by law
The law has decided that it is your right to know about the collection and handling of your personal information. Privacy policies are where people go to learn how each business is using their information. Beyond having a privacy policy on your website, you need to truly adhere to the regulations when handling personal information from your customers. Violating the privacy regulations of the regions (countries, states, etc.) that you conduct business in can land you hefty fines for both intentional and unintentional offenses, from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands. Check with the laws in all of the regions you serve, to make sure you are in compliance with their requirements.
Reason #2: It’s required by third party services
Many third-party services commonly used by websites and apps also require that a privacy policy be made available. For example, email newsletter service providers generally require a privacy policy in order to use their service. You also need to make a privacy policy available on your website or app if you use third-party services that track user browsing behavior or that use location data, like Google Analytics. Check the Terms of Use for all of the third party services that you use, to make sure that you are in compliance with their requirements.
Reason #3: It increases transparency and trust
Even if you don't collect personal information, you should disclose this fact in a privacy policy. Users expect to see a privacy policy on a website, and when you don't have one, they may assume the worst – that you're hiding what you do with the personal information that you collect.
Reason #4: It benefits your search engine optimization
Search engines love a good privacy policy. They prioritize websites with privacy policies, because they take it as a sign that you take proper security measures. Therefore, not having a privacy policy will harm your SEO.
Reason #5: It’s the right thing to do
If someone was secretly collecting your personal information, wouldn’t you want to know about it, especially if it could be sold to others or stolen by bad actors? Protecting your users should be as important to you as it is to protect yourself. Let them know what you’re collecting, what you’ll use it for, and what you promise to never do. Look out for your digital neighbors.
When you work with BRDG, you gain access to our privacy policy template, which is yours to build upon after we wrap up development. To learn more about what we offer our web design clients, head over to Services.
