A privacy Policy Document is an agreement in which you identify and explain how data collected from users is used.

Personal data includes all information relating to the user such as:

• E-mail address
• First and last name
• Shipping addresses and invoices
• Credit cards information

What is a Privacy Policy?

It is a legal statement explaining how the business owner uses the data collected from users, the mechanism by which such data will be processed and why.

It is worth mentioning that in 1968 the Council of Europe conducted studies on the risks of internet use and the impact of technology on human rights, which, in turn, led to the development of these policies, designed specifically to protect the personal data of the individual. Hence, the so-called “Privacy Policy” began to appear.

This Agreement is also defined under other terms, including:

• Privacy Note
• Privacy Statement
• Privacy Page

This document can be used for both your website and phone applications in case they have been adapted to include your work platforms. The contents of your Privacy Policy may differ from one country to another depending on your country’s legislation. However, most privacy laws outline the following key points that all businesses should comply with when dealing with personal data:

• Notice: The entity collecting the personal data (whether an individual or a company) should indicate to users what you intend to do with the data before collecting it.
• Choice: The companies collecting data should respect users’ desires and choices regarding the information they wish to provide, and the degree of privacy that this information will enjoy.
• Access: Users should be able to see or investigate the accuracy of personal data collected by the company.
• Security: The company is fully responsible for safeguarding collected personal data (by saving the data properly and restricting unauthorized parties and persons from accessing it).

Who needs a Privacy Policy?

All entities (individuals or companies) collecting or using personal data from users need to prepare a Privacy Policy Document. The latter is required regardless of the type of business you run, or the industry you operate in:

• Websites
• Blogs or any other platforms
• E-commerce stores
• Smartphone Applications: Failure to have a Privacy Policy Document may lead to the rejection of the app during the application review process. This document is required for all Android applications.
• Facebook applications: All Facebook applications have a Privacy Policy.
• Desktop applications
• Digital products

What information do you need to include in the Privacy Policy Document?

What should be included in the Privacy Policy depends on the nature of the personal data you collect, how you collect it, and what you intend to do with this data.

In addition, you should disclose any other parties collecting personal data on your behalf.

Following are some information you can include:

• Data Collection and processing section: This section is the most important part of the entire agreement, in which you need to inform users of the nature of the personal data you collect and how this data will be used.
• Access Data Disclosure Section: This section is intended to inform users that some data is collected automatically by the web browsers they use, the web servers used by the person collecting the data, IP addresses, different types of browsers (Firefox, Chrome), and other pages the users visit.
• Cookies Section: Small portions of text stored on users’ computers when they visit any website. It is neither a software, nor can be opened and does not carry any viruses – but it works as a passport, which is verified and updated by the website during each visit. Accordingly, this part of the Privacy Policy informs users that the cookies will be stored on their computers when they visit your website pages.
• Links to Other Sites Section: This section is very common in Privacy Policy Documents, which is intended to inform users that your website may be linked to other websites outside of your control or ownership. Therefore, it is recommended to read the Privacy Policy of each website the user visits.
• Non-Compliance Section: This part of the Privacy Policy applies only to US companies.
• Security Section: This section provides users with assurance that their personal data is well protected. However, you should indicate in the Document that there is no 100% secure method.