Why Your Company Needs a Privacy Policy

For many people, a corporate privacy policy is something to scroll through quickly and click ‘ok’ on. For companies, however, a privacy policy is a business necessity.

If your product or service doesn’t already have a privacy policy, it will probably need one soon. Apple recently mandated that all iOS apps have a privacy policy and landing page to host that policy. The decision won’t be the last of its kind given the many scandals involving personal data being sent to outside sources, often without users’ awareness or permission.

Crafting a privacy policy isn’t easy, but it’s less complicated than you might think. The first thing to understand is a privacy policy doesn’t need to be packed with legalese; you can write an understandable policy that the average person will be capable of grasping.

In a nutshell, a privacy policy is essential to reduce liability. It’s the user’s obligation to read and accept your privacy conditions. Outlining in obvious language what your app does, what information it collects, who has usage of that information, and how you, or other parties, may use it is a protective measure as much as it is good business.

Where to start

At its most basic, a privacy policy should adhere to GDPR guidelines, which went into effect back in May. The guidelines state that any European Union citizen can request to transfer, edit, or delete personal data being held by a company. GDPR applies only to businesses that gather data from those living in the European Union. It also set a de facto international precedent for comprehensiveness and transparency in a privacy policy.

A privacy policy should lay out what customer data is being collected and how that data is being used. Activities like tracking location and sharing location data are allowed, but these actions need to be laid out in the policy.

A good policy also lists what organizations are involved in data transactions with the company. It should say where user data may be sent or received, and all the locations of the servers involved.

Crafting a bespoke privacy policy

You could craft your company’s policy, as long as you’re transparent about what information the you are gathering, which partners you might be partnering with, and what’s being done with the information. If you’re crafting your own policy, the ideal situation is if you have a tech product or service that doesn’t gather any data, or one that holds only login credentials.

Hiring a lawyer to create a privacy policy is the most comprehensive option. Going the lawyer route is also an option you can come back to later if your app or service becomes a massive hit; a privacy policy can be a living document if users are notified when there have been alterations.

Having a lawyer will cost significantly more money, but that investment is more cost-effective than the dealing with the fallout of not being clear about how the data you collect is handled. Even the best motives can seem dubious when you leave users in the dark.

At Software Specialists, we help our clients meet business demand by providing them with talent acquisition solutions. Please contact us today to find out how we can support your company.

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