.Every website has (or should have) two little links at the bottom that direct users to view the business’s Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions. Note: businesses can combine these into one page as we do on our website. Some people may wonder “are these pages even necessary? Do I need to put the effort into adding them and keeping them up to date?” The short answer is: yes, 100%. We’re going to explain the need for privacy policies/T&C, along with why they should be updated and when they should be updated. 

The difference between Privacy Policies/Terms and Conditions

A privacy policy is a page on your website that includes a legal document outlining the way your website collects, manages, and uses the information of the people on your website. If you’re collecting any kind of data (think: cookies), you are legally required to have a privacy policy on your site. 

A terms and conditions page is not required by law, but it is important to have one. While privacy policies are necessary to protect the user, terms and conditions protect your business. They outline your terms of use and how people can use the information found on your website This includes copyright, billing, and situations of abuse of the platform. 

Privacy policies and terms and conditions are two separate legal documents but they work together hand in hand. Both are essential to have on your website to ensure your data and your user’s data remains protected. 

The importance of Privacy Policies

Some experts argue that the privacy policy page is the most important page on your website. It details for your users what information your business collects from them and how you use it. The people who view your website have a right to know what kind of information your business is using. They should also know who will have access to that information. It helps protect the users, as well as your business. Besides the users right to know how you’re using their data, key reasons for including a privacy policy page are as follows: 

Compliance with national and international regulations

Privacy policies are legally required around the globe. There are many different laws internationally that regulate the requirement of having these policies on your website,. You need to be sure you are compliant for all possible website users. Among the different international laws are CalOPPA in California, the EU Directive– which is not limited to European Countries, and the PIPEDA in Canada. 

Third-party service requirements

Many third-party services require businesses to have an updated privacy policy on their websites. Because these services use the information collected on your website,you must to inform your website users that they have access to that information. Services such as Google Analytics use cookies, which store data on your computer, to collect information on the user. Facebook, Twitter, and Apple also require updated privacy policies. 

Why and when  Privacy Policies/Terms and Conditions need to be updated

It’s not enough to simply slap a privacy policy/T&C on your website and then ignore it for ten years. These documents need to be regularly updated and maintained, we recommend as often as every year. The global privacy terrain is constantly changing and evolving. Especially now as the focus is zoning in on user’s data privacy. Companies, states and countries alike are all taking action to ensure better privacy. These actions need to be considered in the privacy policy on your website. A great example of the changing terrain is the Apple privacy update, which focuses on user consent for downloaded apps to use your data. 

The importance of working with a team that stays on top of these updates

If you’re putting trust in an internet marketing company to maintain your website, you want to be sure they’re on top of your privacy policy. At webFEAT Complete, our experts are always staying up to date on the latest privacy trends. We can work with you to ensure your website policies are up to date. Thinking you may need to update your privacy policy? Reach out to our team- we would love to help set one up for you and work out a plan to keep it maintained!
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