Do I REALLY need a privacy policy?

If you collect ANYT info on your website the answer is a resounding YES.

✔ That means if you collect credit card info you’re a yes.
✔ If you have a very simple contact form you’re a yes.
✔ If your site collects cookies you’re a yes.
✔ Don’t know if your site collects cookies? You’re still probably a yes.

 

My business isn’t very big, do I still need one?

The laws they are a-changin’ and the rules are changing so rapidly it’s almost impossible to keep up. You know how you’re always getting those emails from companies saying their privacy policies have changed? Changing laws and best practices are the reasons for those emails. The CliffsNotes version is that each state has its own laws but that doesn’t mean you’re immune if your state doesn’t have one of these laws. You could still get sued by someone you work with who is in another state. Still following? Privacy Policies are legal documents that let people know what you plan to do with the information you collect on their websites and that means ANY information. The video below explains this really well.

Ok fine, I’ll just snag one for free on the internet.

I would advise against this. Sure, we all love free stuff but let’s be real, you get what you pay for. Free policies are not always legally sound, you may not know how to customize it for your business AND are you really going to stay on top of the rapidly changing laws? Probs not.

This seems like a lot of work for something that may never happen.

Ah-ha! But this is where you’re wrong. I use a service called Termageddon that creates a custom privacy policy for your website and AUTO-UPDATES it when the laws change. Like magic. I use Termageddon on my site, check it out (It’s also in my footer). I only share tools that I use personally and feel strongly about.