It is a legal document that explains what information you should collect from your users, what you do with the information and who you share it with.
Advantages of a Website Privacy Policy
Build Confidentiality
Being transparent towards your users is one of the most essential aspects. Providing your users with a clear picture of how and why you process their personal data makes your client feel secure. The user who is reading your legal document should feel safe and comfortable.
It is the law!
The strongest legal protection provided to personal information in India is through Section 43A of the Information Technology Act. The provision requires a body corporate who ‘receives, possesses, stores, deals, or handles’ any ‘sensitive personal data’ to implement and maintain ‘reasonable security practices’, failing which they are held liable to compensate those affected. Also, they may be exposed to criminal liability under Section 72A of the Information Technology Act if they disclose personal information with the intent of causing wrongful loss or obtaining wrongful gain.
What should the policy cover?
Clause -1 - Type of information Collected
You need to take reasonable care while collecting information through your website. Personal information is any data that can be used to contact, identify or locate an individual. It may include your Email address, first and last name, City or town, Billing address, IP address, Profile picture etc. All this information should be protected. Therefore ‘What Type of Information We Collect about You’ clause should be inserted.
Clause-2- How information is used
This clause basically explains the purpose. It can be by administering the user’s account, providing the user with access to particular tools and services, responding to the user’s inquiries, feedback from the user, to conduct research activities.
Clause -3- Minors
If your website is targeted to children then there are certain ground rules that you need to follow in your agreement to protect their privacy as well, such as, parental consent, use of personal information, information security etc.
Clause – 4 – Communication Clause
Even if your messages are not promotional in nature you are required to inform users of any personal communication, this can be through your company emails, text messages, phone calls or by any other means. Also, the user should be given the full freedom to the ‘unsubscribe’ the communications.
Clause – 5- Closing of the accounts
Users will delete their accounts on your site from time to time. You should let them know that even if they do there would be some personal information which can be retained in the database. It should be mentioned that only by their request can the account be deleted. This would inform the users their right to delete or close their accounts whenever they want to.
Clause – 6- Changes to Privacy Policy
As the version develops there would be review and changes in the policy so as to reflect the new initiatives. These changes should be announced to all the users at the time of the change.
Termination
A termination clause is a clause which allows the agreement to be ended under circumstances specified in the clause. Most policies are terminated:
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If the terms of the policy are violated
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Any other reason depending on the discretion of the business.
A termination clause exists mainly to allow the website to be able to terminate a relationship with an abusive end user.
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