A Website Privacy Policy is a statement for an organization or entity that outlines how their site collects and uses customer or client data. It establishes practices for collecting, using, disclosing, protecting, and managing personal information. Any website that collects personal information needs to have a Privacy Policy.

You might ask users to accept the Privacy Policy before they use your site. Asking allows users to consent and agree to the site collecting their personal information.

A Privacy Policy also includes information about cookies. Cookies are data stored on users’ computers that help improve their browsing experience.

Any site collecting personal information from users should have a Privacy Policy. In many cases, laws require you to create one. You should never copy a Privacy Policy from another website, as every site will have different requirements and needs. Always make a unique policy for every site. 

You’re legally required to have a Privacy Policy on any sites collecting personal information, including:

• E-Commerce websites (or any website that processes payments)
• Companies that send out email newsletters
• Sites that use cookies to track user behavior
• Blogs or other sites that generate income through advertising (such as Google AdSense and Amazon Affiliates)

Even if your site doesn’t collect personal information, having a Privacy Policy can still be a good idea. Most users expect to see one on a site and can take it as a bad sign if they don’t. Informing users that you don’t collect information can reassure and build trust with your user base.

All Privacy Policies will differ, but most will contain a few standard sections. Here is some of the information that you should include in your policy:

• What personal information your site collects from your users
• When your site collects personal information
• How you use the personal information you collect 
• If your site uses cookies
• Who else has access to the personal information collected, such as third-party advertisers or business partners
• How your site protects personal information from misuse
• How your site upholds legal responsibilities regarding personal information use
• If your site can sell user personal information to other enterprises
• How users can hold your site responsible for the misuse of their personal information
• How the user can opt out of personal information sharing and what impact that might have on their experience

Personal information is any data that identifies an individual. 

For example, a user’s province and postal code don’t necessarily count as personal information because they identify a large group of people, not the individual user. On the other hand, a full name and date of birth clearly identify an individual.

Different legislations will vary in their definition of personally identifiable information, so you should familiarise yourself with what applies to your site. Some of the personal information that your site can collect includes:

• Name, age, and date of birth
• Physical, email, and IP addresses
• Phone numbers
• Marital status
• Race, nationality, or ethnic origin
• Credit information
• Medical, education, or employment history
• Travel history
• Intentions to purchase goods or services

Your site can collect personal information through cookies or when the user makes an action, such as signing up or registering for the website, making an online purchase, or filling out forms and surveys.

Yes, if your site collects, uses, or discloses personal information, the law requires you to have a Privacy Policy. In Canada, The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) outlines how businesses collect and use personal information.

Additionally, websites must follow laws in the areas where they have users. For example, if your site has users in EU countries, it must follow the General Data Protection Regulations.

PIPEDA

PIPEDA applies to all commercial organizations that process Canadians' personal information. The act builds upon ten fair information principles. These principles establish how personal information can be collected, used, and disclosed within the private sector. They also give individuals control over how their personal information is used.

1. Accountability: Your organization must be accountable for the personal information it processes by complying with all ten principles.
2. Identifying purposes: Your site must identify the purposes of information collection before or during collection.
3. Consent: Collecting personal information requires the knowledge and consent of the user.
4. Limiting collection: The information your site collects must be limited to only what is necessary.
5. Limiting use, disclosure, and retention: You should limit the use of personal information to the express purpose for which it was collected.
6. Accuracy: The personal information must be accurate, complete, and up-to-date.
7. Safeguards: You must protect the personal information with the appropriate safeguards.
8. Openness: The information about your organization's privacy policies and practices must be publicly available.
9. Individual access: Users should be able to access and amend their personal information upon request.
10. Challenging compliance: Users have the right to challenge your organization’s compliance with these principles and PIPEDA.

Provincial laws

All Canadian provinces and territories have their own privacy laws that cover provincial government agencies. 

Several provinces also have privacy laws that apply to commercial organizations operating entirely within the province. These laws have been deemed substantially similar to PIPEDA, and organizations in these provinces don’t have to comply with PIPEDA. Instead, they must follow the applicable provincial legislation.

The provinces with PIPEDA equivalent laws are:

• Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act
• British Columbia's Personal Information Protection Act 
• Quebec's Act Respecting the Protection of Personal Information in the Private Sector  

If your site operates in one of these provinces and only collects personal information from users in that province, it will only have to comply with the provincial law. However, as soon as you expand outside the province or transfer personal information across borders, you must follow PIPEDA.

International laws

Many countries have legislation for web privacy. 

United States of America

There isn’t a sole comprehensive law in the United States concerning web privacy. Instead, multiple overlapping laws cover specific areas, industries, or user bases. 

For example, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) protects the information of Americans below 13. If your site collects information from these users, you must mention it in your Privacy Policy. You must also notify parents about how you collect and use children's information and obtain parental consent before collecting a child's personal information.

Additionally, many states have their own privacy regulations. If your site has users within a state, you might have to follow certain laws.

For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) was enacted in 2020 and amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) in 2023. Your organisation has to follow the CCPA if it meets one or more of the following criteria:

• Has annual gross revenues of over $25 million
• Processes personal information of at least 50,000 California users
• Derives 50% or more of its annual revenues from selling California residents' personal information

If your site doesn’t meet any of these criteria but has users in California, you must follow the guidelines of a different act: the California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA). This legislation is similar to the CCPA but less broad in its definitions and the rights afforded to users. 

European Union

If your site collects data from users within the EU, you must comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This legislation is deemed the world's toughest privacy and security law, levying harsh fines against those who violate its standards. 

The act outlines seven principles as foundations for its requirements:

1. Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency: The processing of personal data must be lawful, fair, and transparent.
2. Limitation of purpose: The purpose of the data collection must be specified, explicit, and legitimate.
3. Data minimisation: Personal data collection must be adequate, relevant, and limited to what is necessary for the purpose for which the data is collected and processed.
4. Accuracy of data: Personal data must be accurate and kept up to date.
5. Storage limitations: Personal data must be kept no longer than is necessary.
6. Data integrity and confidentiality: Personal data must be processed in a secure manner.
7. Accountability: Organisations must take accountability for complying with these principles.

The GDPR also enshrines eight rights for individuals. These rights allow users more control over their own data, including the right to be forgotten and the right to object.

Note that if you’re a non-EU-based business targeting EU citizens’ data, you may be required to appoint a representative in the EU.

United Kingdom

You must comply with the United Kingdom Data Protection Act (DPA) if your site processes users' personal information in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

The DPA is based on the EU’s GDPR and enshrines the same seven data protection principles and eight rights for individuals. In most cases, if your site complies with one GDPR, it will usually comply with the other.

Privacy Policies are legally binding if a user agrees or consents to them.

In many cases, by using your site and giving you their personal information, the user consents to you storing and using it. This consent creates a binding agreement between you and the user. 

Likewise, you must follow your site’s Privacy Policy because it is a binding agreement. Not doing so can count as deceptive practices.

LawDepot’s simple and accessible questionnaire makes creating a unique policy for your site easy. Your custom Privacy Policy should include the following information:

1. Site information 

Different types of sites will have to meet different requirements. State what kind of site you’re creating a policy for. You can use our template for:

• Blogs
• E-commerce or online shops (including Shopify)
• Wix or Squarespace sites
• News or media sites
• Portfolios
• Other websites

Users often look to a Privacy Policy to learn more about the site. In addition to the domain name and the full name of the website owner, the policy must also include contact information, such as a phone number, email address, and physical address. The website owner can be an individual or a business.

2. Scope of business

This section of the policy will describe where you have users and which regional regulations your site has to follow.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Suppose your site monitors the online behaviour of UK or EU users or offers them products or services. In that case, you must comply with the United Kingdom Data Protection Act (DPA) or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

California Business

Suppose your site is a for-profit business that collects the personal information of California consumers and meets the criteria set out by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). In that case, you’ll have to clarify what personal information your site collects and where the information comes from.

The CCPA requires you to add specific sections if you have disclosed or sold personal information in the last 12 months. This portion should include:

• Which third parties the information was sold or disclosed to
• What categories of personal information were disclosed or sold
• The purpose for disclosing or selling the information

If your site processes or sells children's personal information, you must describe how you obtain consent from parents or guardians. You should also mention whether you sell or disclose de-identified protected patient health information protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Lastly, you must provide a section to let your users know where to go for certain user requests. California users have the right to:

• Opt out of the sale of their personal information
• Request access to their personal information
• Request deletion of their personal information

3. Details on data

The main portion of your Privacy policy will be about the personal information you collect and process. These sections cover how you collect the information, who can access it, and what you do with it.

Lawful basis for data processing

The GDPR demands that your site have legal justification for processing personal data in the EU. In short, you need to explain why your site can legally access users’ data.

The lawful basis can be one or more of the following reasons:

• Consent from users
• Processing is necessary to pursue your legitimate interests, and a user's interests or fundamental rights do not override your legitimate interests
• Processing is necessary to fulfill a contract
• You have a legal obligation to process user personal data
• A life depends on you processing users' personal data
• Processing is necessary to carry out a task that is in the public interest

Automatic data collection

If your site automatically collects personal information when users access it, you must clarify what data this includes. This can include information like IP addresses, location, and content viewed. You also need to explain how you use this data.

Non-automatic data collection

Some websites will collect personal information when users perform certain functions, like filling out a form, signing up for a newsletter, or paying for a product. Your Privacy Policy must mention what types of data are collected non-automatically. You will also need to explain how you collect and use the information.

Third-party disclosure

Many sites share personal user information with third-party organizations. This includes, among other things, sharing data with Google Ads or Amazon for targeted advertising.

If third parties can collect, process, or access the personal information your site collects, you need to include this in your Privacy Policy. You must mention who the third parties are, what data they have access to, and why they have this access.

Automated decision making

Automated decision-making means any decision made without human involvement. Often, sites that make automated decisions rely on user profiling. Examples of these decisions are exams or tests with pre-programmed algorithms and criteria, loan approval, and automated trading.

You must disclose if your site relies solely on automated decision-making to make decisions about users that can significantly affect them. You must also list what decisions your site uses automated decision-making for, the criteria, and how the decisions will affect users.

Online tracking

Websites often track users’ online activities over time and across third-party websites, which can be helpful for user profiling and targeted ads. Any site that tracks user activity must mention this in its Privacy Policy. 

Some web browsers have a “Do Not Track” setting that, when enabled, can stop sites from tracking user behaviour. While your site isn’t legally prohibited from tracking users with this setting enabled, you must be transparent about your practices. Your Privacy Policy must inform users whether your site listens to the “Do Not Track” setting.

Opt-out option

Users of your site have legally protected rights, and one of these is the right to opt out of data collection for direct marketing purposes. For example, if you send newsletters or marketing emails to users, you need to provide an unsubscribe button. 

Your Privacy Policy needs to list what collection, use, or disclosure users can opt out of and how they can do so. 

Data retention and security 

You must inform your users how long your site retains their data. You can keep it until its purpose has been met or specify a retention period. You also need to describe the security measures you take to protect personal information.

International data transfers

In cases of international data transfer, where your site sends personal information to another country, you must inform users where their data travels.

If you transfer the personal data of EU citizens outside the EU, you must ensure an equivalent level of data protection in the recipient country. If the recipient country doesn’t have an EU adequacy agreement, you might have to implement additional safeguards.

4. Data protection officer and privacy officer

A data protection officer (DPO) ensures that your organization processes personal data in compliance with data protection rules.

The GDPR requires that you appoint a DPO if your organization is one or more of the following:

• A public body or authority
• Regularly and systematically monitoring EU individuals' data on a large scale
• Involved in large-scale processing of personal data related to criminal convictions and offences, ethnic origin, political opinions, religious beliefs, or health data 

If your organization doesn’t meet the above requirements, you can still voluntarily appoint a DPO. Note that the GDPR sets out very specific requirements for this role that you and your organization must follow.

Organizations without a DPO should appoint a privacy officer (PO). Your organization’s PO will be responsible for most privacy-related matters, including creating privacy policies, performing privacy assessments, and responding to personal data breaches.

Your Privacy Policy must contain the contact information for your DPO or PO.

5. Complaints

Most EU countries have supervisory bodies where users can lodge complaints if a site isn't complying with the GDPR. Your Privacy Policy must list the supervisory bodies of the countries where you have users.

Users in Canada can use the Privacy Commissioner’s tool to determine who to contact about privacy complaints.

6. Child users and collection of data

Specific rules apply for collecting and processing children's personal information. Depending on where your users are located, you will need to follow different guidelines. 

PIPEDA

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada demands that sites aimed at Canadian children put their best interests at the forefront of privacy. 

To protect children’s privacy rights, your site should:

• Build in young people’s privacy and best interests by design
• Be transparent
• Set privacy protective settings by default and turn off tracking and profiling
• Reject deceptive practices
• Limit the disclosure of personal information
• Allow for deletion or deindexing and limit retention
• Facilitate access to and correction of personal information

If your site collects personal information from children under 13, your Privacy Policy must describe how you obtain parental consent.

GDPR

The GDPR demands that you get parental consent before collecting information from children under 16. You can collect this consent by, for example, adding a consent form to your site.

If your site contains content aimed at children in the EU, the GDPR also requires you to make your Privacy Policy accessible and understandable for them. 

COPPA

In the United States, websites that collect personal information from or contain content aimed at US children under 13 must follow the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). 

In these cases, your Privacy Policy must contain the following information:

• What personal information you collect from children
• How you collect personal information from children
• If children can make their personal information publicly available on your site
• How you use children’s personal information 
• Whether you disclose children’s personal information to third parties, which third parties you disclose the information to, and how the third party uses that information
• Whether any third parties collect children’s personal information from your website

Parents or guardians might have questions about your privacy policy and your use of children’s information. Your Privacy Policy must list contact information for where guardians can turn to get the necessary answers.

In cases where sites collect information from children under 13, guardians have rights over their children’s data. Your Privacy Policy should list how guardians can exercise their rights, for example, by contacting your site via email to request access to or deletion of the information.

7. Cookie policy

Cookies are small pieces of data stored on user computers. These bits of data help websites remember information about users, which can help improve user experience.

You can include a cookie policy that lists what types of cookies your sites use. There are three different types of cookies:

• Functional cookies remember user preferences and settings. They help enhance the performance of websites.
• Analytical cookies, also called performance cookies, track site visitors and user behaviours. They help monitor site performance.
• Targeting cookies build user profiles and targeted ads. They are shared with advertisers so that ad performance can be monitored.

Your site can also use third-party cookies for targeted advertising and web tracking. If you use any third-party cookies, you should mention what they’re used for.

8. Additional details 

The last sections of your Privacy Policy should include any other information you want to add about how your website manages users’ personal information. You can also choose to set an effective date.

Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies are both essential documents covering different security aspects for your website and users. 

Privacy Policies are often legally required to protect users. On the other hand, Website Terms and Conditions help protect your site by setting rules and conditions for its use. While not required, creating Terms and Conditions for your website is a legally smart choice. 

With a properly written set of Terms and Conditions, you can outline prohibited behaviours, establish the website’s conditions, and describe any guarantees, return policies, limits on your site's liability, and dispute resolution processes.

Use LawDepot’s Terms and Conditions template to ensure you’re covering all your bases when it comes to protecting yourself, limiting your site’s liability, and communicating rules and responsibilities to users.

No, you don’t need a lawyer to create your Privacy Policy. However, consulting a lawyer can help ensure your document meets your organization’s needs and follows the appropriate laws. 

Web privacy is a constantly changing and evolving field. Between changes to legislation and new technologies, your Privacy Policy will need regular and recurring revisions. 

Best practice suggests reviewing and updating your Privacy Policy annually. However, if your website is experiencing certain changes, you don’t have to wait. By being proactive and keeping your policy up-to-date, you can minimize risks and protect yourself and your users. 

Notable changes that may require you to update your policy include:

• Implementing a new method of gathering personal information
• Altering how your company uses personal information
• Sharing personal information with new third-parties 
• New laws regulating personal information come into effect
• If a breach happens or there is a security threat

Remember to notify your users when you update your Privacy Policy so they can be aware of the changes. In some cases, legislation requires you to inform users before the changes come into effect.