An effective and compliant Privacy Policy template should include the following information.
All Privacy Policy templates should provide detailed information about which types of personal data the website or application is collecting, and how this collection happens. Businesses should be specific in the information they provide and templates should enable users to customize these clauses to describe their individual collection processes.
Privacy Policy notice templates should also provide detail surrounding specifically how this personal information is used by the company, and which purposes you’re collecting this data for. It’s a good idea to provide clear and specific examples of how individuals’ data will be used, so website owners will need to complete this section of the template to reflect their individual use cases.
Privacy Policy templates should also include clauses describing whether individuals’ personal data will be shared with third parties, and if so, when. Providing transparency around this ensures that users know what information they’re volunteering for but also exactly how this information will later be passed on to other parties.
Privacy Policy templates will also need to provide specific information about how they’re protecting your data once they collect it. Every data subject has the right to have their information stored securely, so the template will need to provide reassurance that there are protocols and procedures in place to provide this security.
Even after volunteering their data, website visitors will retain a number of rights over this data, and a comprehensive Privacy Policy template should clarify these rights. For instance, a GDPR-compliant Privacy Policy will usually describe users’ right to amend, delete and review the data kept about them, as well as how they can exercise these rights.
Privacy Policies will also need to provide a section outlining any contact information for the website’s owners. This enables data subjects to get in touch with the website owner to ask any questions or express any concerns about the way their data is processed.
Under the EU Cookies Directive, businesses that are based in the EU or target EU-based citizens will be obliged to create a separate Cookies Policy. However, businesses that fall outside of this scope could include a section about cookies within their Privacy Policy instead. What to consider when choosing a Privacy Policy template But it’s important to note that not all Privacy Policy templates are born equal. There are a few things you’ll need to consider when selecting the right Privacy Policy template for your website. These considerations include: Compliance with laws: does the Privacy Policy template comply with the laws within the jurisdictions you operate in? Readability and accessibility: can users actually read and understand the contents of the Privacy Policy with ease? Design features: is the template visually appealing and accessible for users, or is it too text-heavy? How easy they are to update: can you update the Privacy Policy template easily in the future to reflect changes? Comprehensiveness: does the policy note include all of the necessary clauses? If you’re looking for a free Privacy Policy that’s easy to populate, compliant and user-friendly, download our Privacy Policy template above.