A privacy policy template is a sample of a privacy policy, which explains to website users what kind of data you are collecting from them and what you will do with it. If you collect personal data, a privacy policy is required by law. Personal data includes anything that the user might feel is personal, including their email address, their first and last name, their billing or shipping address, or their credit card details.
A privacy policy is a legal document and is also sometimes called a privacy statement, privacy notice, privacy information, or a privacy page.
If you have any of the following, you need a privacy policy:
You also need a privacy policy if you use Google AdSense.
Rules and regulations for privacy policies vary depending on where you are based and what legislation you fall under.
EU Regulations
There are two laws that affect privacy policies in the EU. The Data Protective Directive means that websites or mobile apps that use the personal data of users must have a privacy policy. The ePrivacy Directive is for when your users’ data is directly or indirectly displayed to or used by a third party.
If you are doing either of these things on your website and you are operating within the EU, you must disclose this information in your privacy policy.
U.S. Regulations
In the U.S., there are no overall laws regarding privacy policies. It can vary state to state. California is the most regulation heavy when it comes to privacy policy regulations.
Canada Regulations
Canada has the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). This law states that there are certain limits and that companies need to organize personal data that they are gathering and using, and they must disclosure this information to their users.
Australia Regulations
Australian companies are required by law to have a privacy policy if they are collecting any sort of personal information from their users. The policy needs to mention not only what kind information you are collecting, but also why you are collecting it.
What you include in your privacy policy will depend on what information you are collecting, how you are collecting it, and what you are doing with it.
If a third party – such as an app or email marketing website – is involved in collecting the personal information, you will need to disclose that.
Some of the most important things to cover are:
Simply having a privacy policy isn’t enough to ensure you are cooperating with privacy laws. Law enforcement can fine websites whose privacy policies are well-intentioned, but wrong.
There are two ways of sharing your privacy policy with users. You can use one or both of these methods on your website.
Privacy policies aren’t very easy to make, so using a template is a great way to get started and make sure you don’t miss out on any information that is required. You do not want to take this matter lightly. You can get into trouble with your customers and the law if you don’t have a privacy policy or if you have a one that does not cover all of the correct information.
Starting with the UpCounsel privacy policy template is an easy and effective way to ensure that you are covering all of the valuable information required in a privacy policy. Depending on your type of business, you may want to look at different privacy policy templates as well.
If you need help with privacy policy templates, you can post your question or concern on UpCounsel’s marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Stripe, and Twilio.