If you’re a small business owner wondering whether you need a privacy policy, the answer is probably yes.
A privacy policy for your small business helps you comply with privacy laws while also protecting the rights of your users.
Read on to find out what a small business privacy policy is and why you need one.
A privacy policy is a legal statement that tells your customers how, when, and why you gather their information and what you do with it. It lets them know whether you keep their information confidential, share with anyone, or sell it to other businesses.
You are not exempt from the need for a privacy policy because your business is small.
If you share personal information without your customers’ knowledge, you could infringe on local laws. A data breach or the mishandling of information can bring serious legal consequences.
Your small business could be on the hook for a bundle without a privacy policy.
A small business privacy policy contains multiple legal clauses covering the type of data collected, how it’s protected and used, and a procedure to allow customers to either opt in or opt out of sharing their data.
If you’re a small business, your privacy policy must describe what information you collect, including names, addresses, email addresses, and payment information.
Consider all the ways you collect personal data, including contact forms, payment applications, email newsletter registration, affiliate websites, advertising networks — including cookies — and buttons for social media sharing.
Be sure to tell customers when and under what circumstances you share the information.
If customers create an account with you or consent to storing their information with you, they may need to update it for various reasons.
The policy should state that you allow your customers access and provide contact information for making corrections and updates.
Telling customers how you plan to protect their data reassures them that it’s safe with you. Some laws require you to communicate how you protect customer information. You shouldn’t be too vague but keep to general steps.
Some privacy laws require you to provide customers with a way to opt out of communications, information collection, or data storage. It’s a method of reducing unwanted or unsolicited emails and spam.
Provide a phone number or email address where the customer can contact you to opt out of communications. While it’s not part of a privacy policy, any email or text you send to a customer should indicate how they can opt-out of future communications, typically by an unsubscribe button or link or a specific text response like the word stop.
Other regulations require you to allow a customer to deliberately opt in before you can ask for information, which is more proactive than opting out. In this case, the customer agrees to provide the information before any is entered instead of asking people to look up your privacy policy or wait for the first communication to opt out.
Before you ask, think about whether you need that information. Only collect the information you absolutely need and nothing more.
Keep privacy and security at the top of your mind anytime you purchase new computer equipment, software, or cloud services. Also, consider the type of information you collect, why you collect it, and where you intend to keep it.
Your privacy policy should fit your business. Copying a policy from someone else’s website is unlikely to cover your specific company or industry. It’s okay to start with a template or look at a borrowed policy but make it relevant to your business and the information you collect.
Providing a page full of legal terms can turn people off because they feel like you’re hiding something. Use language like that which you use when speaking to your customers and explaining your business.
Experiment with different structures or add a table of contents to make the policy easier to read.
If you run a complex business or expect a global audience, speak to a business lawyer who can help you avoid pitfalls. An expert attorney will understand the most current versions of any regulations you must follow, ensuring your compliance with standards.
Are you expecting minors to use your service or visit your website? An attorney can help you navigate any laws regarding information gathering from children or teenagers.
Never ask for more data than necessary. The less you gather, the less you assume responsibility for. If you don’t need a date of birth, don’t ask for it.
If you minimize the amount of data you request, you have less liability for exposing sensitive information in cases of a data breach.
Don’t stop with a privacy policy. While it’s an excellent first step, you need to install the proper security and virus protection for your systems. Do everything you can to keep the data from exposure to bad actors.
There are plenty of places to post your privacy policy on your website. Just don’t hide it; make it easy to find as well as easy to read.
Create a menu item or page for legal policies, especially if you operate a complex or highly regulated business. Place access to your privacy policy under that menu item or header and put the policy with the rest of your legal documents.
Make “privacy policy” a link from a home page menu and put the policy on an informational page linked closely to your information gathering forms.
The footer at the bottom of your website or home page is an obvious place for a link to your privacy policy.
People generally consider banners and pop-ups annoying, but you can limit their appearance by allowing form entries or payment sites to trigger them to open before a customer discloses any information.
Are you asking customers to register for promotions or open accounts? Put your privacy policy link or the policy itself at the top of the form.
Customers appreciate learning that their financial information is safe. Place a link or the privacy policy at the top of the checkout page or create a banner or pop-up to trigger when they open the payment page.
Put a link to your privacy policy right at the top of your website or home page. It can go next to your phone number or other legal information you need to share with customers.
If you expect people to enter your site from a link from an email or social media post to a landing page instead of your home page, put the privacy policy on the page or create a pop-up or banner to explain your privacy policy before the customer continues to the landing page.
Here are some examples of small business privacy policies that check the appropriate boxes.
The table of contents is arranged like a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page, with headings in the form of questions like “How do we use your information?”
They also keep paragraphs short and use bulleted lists to make the policy more readable.
After customizing it for your small business, copy and paste the following text onto your site, or download the PDF or Word document.
A privacy policy for a small business website is essential for any size business that collects information from its customers. The privacy policy should be easy for your customers to find and read and include what you collect, why you collect it, how your store it, and what you do with it.
Show people the precise compliance standards you follow and how they can opt in before collecting your data. Make your privacy policy easy to find, and consider using a template to ensure your policy checks all the right boxes.
Protect your customers’ private information from exposure and yourself from liability with a privacy policy.