Hey, all; today we have another freebie for you in the way of a GDPR Privacy Policy that should help you tick the box ready for May 25th.
This GDPR Privacy Policy is essential to all companies, and needs to be obvious on your website. There are arguments that it should be placed in the menu at the top however I believe that having it in the footer next to your copyright notice is a standardised place for it to feature. It needs to be present on every page just like your copyright information so these seems an ideal position.
Let’s be fair though, how many of us actually read a Privacy Policy? They are long winded, drawn out technical documents that we swipe quickly across after downloading a new app or service and are only looking for that tick box to get on to the next step. Well, regardless of how we treat these privacy policies and terms and conditions, we still need to have them written and presented correctly.
You are welcome to use the attached privacy policy as a starting point to your policy, you can use it as-is or build on it. The more personal data you capture and hold and what you use it for means that your privacy policy will need to grow and be more robust. For most companies, in particular who we work with here in the Innovation Centre, a basic privacy policy which covers basic marketing, email sign-ups and cookies should suffice.
To adhere to GDPR Privacy Policy guidelines, it should:
- Say who you are
- What information you’re collecting
- What your going to do with the information
- Who (if anyone) it will be shared with
- Be clear and written in easy to understand English
- Avoid confusing terms and legal language
- Be truthful, open and honest
- Be consistent across all deployed systems (apps, website etc.)
GDPR Privacy Policy template
You can also download this privacy policy as a Word file by clicking here >
Change the bold areas to be your information
This privacy policy explains how COMPANY uses any personal information we collect about you when you use this website.
Last updated: (DATE)
What Information Do We Collect About You?
We collect information about you when you send a contact form requesting information about our products or services. We also collect information when you voluntarily complete customer surveys, provide feedback, testimonials and participate in competitions be that on this website or our social media pages such as Facebook or Twitter. Website usage information is collected using cookies.
Cookies Policy
COMPANY(“us”, “we”, or “our”) uses cookies on WEBSITE (the “Service”). By using the Service, you consent to the use of cookies.
Our Cookies Policy explains what cookies are, how we use cookies, how third-parties we may partner with may use cookies on the Service, your choices regarding cookies and further information about cookies.
What are cookies
Cookies are small pieces of text sent by your web browser by a website you visit. A cookie file is stored in your web browser and allows the Service or a third-party to recognize you and make your next visit easier and the Service more useful to you.
Cookies can be “persistent” or “session” cookies.
How COMPANY uses cookies
When you use and access the Service, we may place a number of cookies files in your web browser.
We use cookies for the following purposes: to enable certain functions of the Service, to provide analytics, to store your preferences, to enable advertisements delivery, including behavioural advertising.
We use both session and persistent cookies on the Service and we use different types of cookies to run the Service:
– Essential cookies. We may use essential cookies to authenticate users and prevent fraudulent use of user accounts.
Third-party cookies
In addition to our own cookies, we may also use various third-party cookies to report usage statistics of the Service, deliver advertisements on and through the Service, and so on.
What are your choices regarding cookies
If you’d like to delete cookies or instruct your web browser to delete or refuse cookies, please visit the help pages of your web browser.
Please note, however, that if you delete cookies or refuse to accept them, you might not be able to use all of the features we offer, you may not be able to store your preferences, and some of our pages might not display properly.
Where can you find more information about cookies
You can learn more about cookies and the following third-party websites:
- AllAboutCookies: http://www.allaboutcookies.org/
● Network Advertising Initiative: http://www.networkadvertising.org/
How will we use the information about you?
We collect information about you to process your query, manage your account and, if you agree, to email you about other products and services we think may be of interest to you.
We use your information collected from the website to personalise your repeat visits to our website.
COMPANY will not share your information for marketing purposes with companies outside of our company.
Marketing
We would like to send you information about products and services of ours which may be of interest to you. If you have consented to receive marketing, you may opt out at a later date.
You have a right at any time to stop us from contacting you for marketing purposes.
If you no longer wish to be contacted for marketing purposes, please email us here (insert email)
Access to your information and correction
You have the right to request a copy of the information that we hold about you. If you would like a copy of some or all of your personal information, please email here(insert email) or write to us at the following address. We may make a small charge for this service.
ADD YOUR FULL BUSINESS ADDRESS
We want to make sure that your personal information is accurate and up to date. You may ask us to correct or remove information you think is inaccurate.
Other websites
Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy policy only applies to this website so when you link to other websites you should read their own privacy policies.
Changes to our privacy policy
We keep our privacy policy under regular review and we will place any updates on this web page. This privacy policy was last updated on DATE.
How to contact us
Please contact us if you have any question s about our privacy policy or information we hold about you:
By email (insert email)
or write to us at MAILING ADDRESS
Great example of a more in-depth Privacy Policy
If you’re looking for something a bit more substantial then look for inspiration from Revolut whose GDPR Privacy Policy covers their app, website and what and when they use your data. An excellent and relevant example!
Revolut – https://www.revolut.com/privacy
Like I said earlier, this GDPR Privacy Policy may not suit all companies and is just a starting point. Please feel free to use this and build on it adding in your related information.
For help right from the mouth of the Information Commissioner’s Office then please visit their page on Providing Effective Privacy Information here