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Website Privacy Policy

Lawful Basis for Data Processing


Lawful Basis for Data Processing

What are your legal bases for processing users' personal data?What is a legal base for processing?The GDPR requires that you have a legal justification for processing users' personal data.







Frequently Asked Questions
What is a legitimate interest?An interest can be the broader stake you have in processing user data, or the benefit you or society may get from processing user data. An interest can be yours or that of a third party you disclose user personal data to.

To be legitimate, an interest must be lawful, sufficiently specific that it can be balanced against the interests and fundamental rights of users, and a real and present interest that is being pursued.

To be necessary, processing must be required to achieve the interest and the processing must be a targeted and proportionate way of achieving the interest.

Finally, to be a legitimate interest, the interest must be balanced against and cannot be overriden by users' interests and fundamental rights. For example, if a user would reasonably expect their data to be used in that way, or if it doesn't cause them unwarranted harm, their interests likely will not override yours.


Your Website Privacy Policy

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Website Privacy Policy Page of
Page of

__________ Privacy Policy

Type of website: Ecommerce
Effective date: ________ day of ________________, ________

__________ (the "Site") is owned and operated by __________. __________ is the data controller and can be contacted at:

________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Purpose
The purpose of this privacy policy (this "Privacy Policy") is to inform users of our Site of the following:

  1. The personal data we will collect;
  2. Use of collected data;
  3. Who has access to the data collected;
  4. The rights of Site users; and
  5. The Site's cookie policy.

This Privacy Policy applies in addition to the terms and conditions of our Site.

GDPR
For users in the European Union, we adhere to the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (the "GDPR"). For users in the United Kingdom, we adhere to the GDPR as enshrined in the Data Protection Act 2018.

Consent
By using our Site users agree that they consent to:

  1. The conditions set out in this Privacy Policy.

Legal Basis for Processing
We collect and process personal data about users in the EU only when we have a legal basis for doing so under Article 6 of the GDPR.

We rely on the following legal bases to collect and process the personal data of users in the EU:

Personal Data We Collect
We only collect data that helps us achieve the purpose set out in this Privacy Policy. We will not collect any additional data beyond the data listed below without notifying you first.

Data Collected Automatically
When you visit and use our Site, we may automatically collect and store the following information:

Data Collected in a Non-Automatic Way
We may also collect the following data when you perform certain functions on our Site:

This data may be collected using the following methods:

  1. _____________________________________________________________________________.

How We Use Personal Data
Data collected on our Site will only be used for the purposes specified in this Privacy Policy or indicated on the relevant pages of our Site. We will not use your data beyond what we disclose in this Privacy Policy.

The data we collect automatically is used for the following purposes:

  1. _____________________________________________________________________________.

The data we collect when the user performs certain functions may be used for the following purposes:

  1. _____________________________________________________________________________.

Who We Share Personal Data With
Employees
We may disclose user data to any member of our organization who reasonably needs access to user data to achieve the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy.

Other Disclosures
We will not sell or share your data with other third parties, except in the following cases:

  1. If the law requires it;
  2. If it is required for any legal proceeding;
  3. To prove or protect our legal rights; and
  4. To buyers or potential buyers of this company in the event that we seek to sell the company.

If you follow hyperlinks from our Site to another Site, please note that we are not responsible for and have no control over their privacy policies and practices.

How Long We Store Personal Data
User data will be stored until the purpose the data was collected for has been achieved.

You will be notified if your data is kept for longer than this period.

How We Protect Your Personal Data
    

While we take all reasonable precautions to ensure that user data is secure and that users are protected, there always remains the risk of harm. The Internet as a whole can be insecure at times and therefore we are unable to guarantee the security of user data beyond what is reasonably practical.

Your Rights as a User
Under the GDPR, you have the following rights:

  1. Right to be informed;
  2. Right of access;
  3. Right to rectification;
  4. Right to erasure;
  5. Right to restrict processing;
  6. Right to data portability; and
  7. Right to object.

Children
We do not knowingly collect or use personal data from children under 16 years of age. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a child under 16 years of age, the personal data will be deleted as soon as possible. If a child under 16 years of age has provided us with personal data their parent or guardian may contact our data protection officer.

How to Access, Modify, Delete, or Challenge the Data Collected
If you would like to know if we have collected your personal data, how we have used your personal data, if we have disclosed your personal data and to who we disclosed your personal data, if you would like your data to be deleted or modified in any way, or if you would like to exercise any of your other rights under the GDPR, please contact our data protection officer here:

__________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Do Not Track Notice
Do Not Track ("DNT") is a privacy preference that you can set in certain web browsers. We do not track the users of our Site over time and across third party websites and therefore do not respond to browser-initiated DNT signals.

Cookie Policy
A cookie is a small file, stored on a user's hard drive by a website. Its purpose is to collect data relating to the user's browsing habits. You can choose to be notified each time a cookie is transmitted. You can also choose to disable cookies entirely in your internet browser, but this may decrease the quality of your user experience.

We use the following types of cookies on our Site:

  1. Third-Party Cookies
    Third-party cookies are created by a website other than ours. We may use third-party cookies to achieve the following purposes:
    1. _____________________________________________________________________________.

Modifications
This Privacy Policy may be amended from time to time in order to maintain compliance with the law and to reflect any changes to our data collection process. When we amend this Privacy Policy we will update the "Effective Date" at the top of this Privacy Policy. We recommend that our users periodically review our Privacy Policy to ensure that they are notified of any updates. If necessary, we may notify users by email of changes to this Privacy Policy.

Complaints
If you have any complaints about how we process your personal data, please contact us through the contact methods listed in the Contact Information section so that we can, where possible, resolve the issue. If you feel we have not addressed your concern in a satisfactory manner you may contact a supervisory authority. You also have the right to directly make a complaint to a supervisory authority. You can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority by contacting the _____________________________________________________________________________.

Contact Information
If you have any questions, concerns or complaints, you can contact our data protection officer, __________, at:

________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Last Updated October 24, 2023

What is a Website Privacy Policy?

A Privacy Policy is a statement on behalf of an organization or entity outlining how they use customer or client data that they collect online. It establishes the organization's practices regarding collecting, using, disclosing, protecting, and managing personal information. Additionally, a Privacy Policy might provide information on cookies: the data the website leaves on the user’s computer to improve their browsing experience.

A Privacy Policy generator creates an outward-facing statement directed towards the user. A Website Privacy Policy typically informs users of:

  • What data the website collects from the user
  • When the organization or entity collects personal information
  • How the organization or entity uses personal information
  • If the website uses cookies
  • Who else has access to the data collected (such as third-party advertisers or business partners)
  • How the company or organization will protect the user’s data from misuse and uphold its legal responsibilities regarding data use
  • If the company can sell the user’s data to other enterprises
  • How users can hold the organization or entity responsible for the misuse of their data
  • How the user can opt-out of data sharing and what impact that might have on their experience

User data include personal information such as the user’s:

  • Name
  • Age
  • Date of birth
  • Address (physical and email)
  • IP addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Marital status
  • Debit or credit card details
  • Credit information
  • Medical history
  • Travel history
  • Intentions to purchase goods or services

Many sites require users to acknowledge that they have read the Privacy Policy before using the site.

A Website Privacy Policy is also known as:

  • Privacy agreement
  • Privacy statement
  • Privacy terms

How do I get a Privacy Policy for my website?

Every website is different and requires its own unique Privacy Policy. As a result, there isn’t one simple Privacy Policy notice you can post on your website. A custom Privacy Policy will encompass all the necessary regulations relevant to your website. You might feel tempted to copy and paste the Privacy Policy from a similar website, but this isn’t sufficient.

LawDepot’s Website Privacy Policy template is an easy way to create and customize an accurate and detailed statement that suits your website according to the laws in your jurisdiction. No matter whether you’re a small business crafting a Privacy Policy for the first time or a corporate company, our custom privacy notice will suit your needs.

A Privacy Policy should be separate from other website documentation, such as Website Terms and Conditions.

How do I write a Privacy Policy?

Writing a Privacy Policy doesn’t have to be an overwhelming process. Using a Privacy Policy generator or Website Privacy Policy template can help you create a custom notice suited to your website while ensuring that you don’t miss any critical details.

You can create a Privacy Policy for your:

  • Blog
  • E-Commerce of an online shop (including Shopify)
  • Wix or Squarespace sites
  • News or media
  • Portfolio
  • Other websites

Provide your website’s information

Creating a Privacy Policy requires you first to provide important information about your website, including the:

  • Name of the website owner
  • Contact information of the website owner (phone number, email, and address)
  • Domain name

Evaluate the scope of your business

Depending on where your organization operates, you may need to include certain details within your Privacy Policy. For example, both California and the EU have laws that outline how organizations and entities can use, collect, and distribute data from users in those jurisdictions. If your website has users, customers, or clients in these areas, you must comply with these laws regardless of where you are based.

LawDepot’s Privacy Policy will ask you if you do for-profit business in California. The questionnaire will also ask if you offer products or services to EU citizens or residents. If you do, you’ll need to provide a few additional details and clarify your legal bases for processing users' personal data.

Provide details on collecting and using data

The questionnaire will prompt you to answer some questions to understand how your website collects and uses data. Be prepared to answer questions regarding:

  • Lawful basis for data processing: What are your legal bases for processing users' personal data?
  • Automatic data collection: Is data automatically collected when users access your website? Which types of data do you collect automatically? How do you use the data you automatically collect?
  • Non-automatic data collection: Do you collect data when users perform certain functions on your site? Which types of data do you collect? How do you collect this data? How do you use this data?
  • Third-party disclosures: Are third parties able to collect, process, or access user data? Who are the third parties? What data is communicated to third parties? For what purpose is data communicated to third parties?
  • Automated decision making: Do you use solely automated decision making, including profiling, to make decisions about users that have a legal or other similarly significant effects on users? What decision do you make using automated decision-making? What are the criteria or reasons relied on in making the automated decision? How will the decision affect users?
  • Opt-out options: Can users of your site opt-out of the collection, use, or disclosure of their data? Which form of collection, use, or disclosure can users opt-out of? How do users opt-out of this collection, use, or disclosure?
  • Data retention: How long do you keep the data?
  • Security: What security measures do you take to protect user data?
  • International data transfers: Is user data transferred to countries outside the country you’re based in? Which countries is data transferred to?
  • Data protection officer details: Who is your data protection officer? How can they be contacted?
  • Complaints: Which supervisory body can users lodge complaints to about your compliance with the GDPR?

Comply with child protection laws

Because of the laws surrounding the collection and use of children's data, you’ll need to explain how your website handles information collected from users under 13. Be prepared to answer the following questions:

  • Does your website have a minimum age for users? If so, how do you acquire parental consent for the collection of their data?
  • Do you have actual knowledge that you collect or allow others to collect personal information from children in the United States who are under 13 years of age?
  • Does your site generate revenue and contain content aimed at children under 13 years of age, including children who live in the United States?

If you answer yes to these questions, the United States Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and COPPA rules apply to your website. You must provide direct notice to parents about how you collect and use children's information and obtain parental consent before collecting a child's personal information. To ensure that your Privacy Policy complies with these regulations, answer the following questions:

  • What personal information do you collect from children under 13?
  • How do you collect personal information from children under 13?
  • Can children make their personal information publicly available on your site?
  • How will you use the personal information you collect from children under 13?
  • Do you disclose the personal information of children under 13 to any third parties? How does the third party use this information?
  • Do any third parties collect or maintain the personal information of children under 13 from your website?
  • Who will respond to parent or guardian questions about your privacy policy and use of children's information?
  • How can parents exercise their rights over the personal information of their children under 13?

If your website uses cookies, you should address this within your Privacy Policy. Specify the kinds of cookies your website uses (such as functional cookies, analytical cookies, or targeting cookies). If your website uses third-party cookies, include how they are used.

Provide additional details

You may choose to include additional clauses in your Website Privacy Policy. Also note when your privacy notice comes into effect.

Is a Privacy Policy required by law?

Any website that collects personal information to any degree must have a Privacy Policy on their website, including:

  • e-Commerce websites (or any website that processes payments)
  • Companies that send out email newsletters
  • Sites that use cookies to track user behavior
  • Blogs or other sites that generate income through advertising (such as Google AdSense and Amazon Affiliates)

Most countries, including the United States, have laws requiring websites to have Privacy Policies present. However, the specifics of these laws vary between countries.

Privacy Policy Laws in the United States

In the United States, there is no single governing data protection legislation. However, websites are expected to follow their posted privacy policy. A failure to do so may be considered deceptive practice by the Federal Trade Commission. Additionally, there are a number of federal and state laws that apply to data protection and privacy and that govern the use of data collected from specific demographics.

For example, the Children’s Online Privacy Act (known as COPPA) regulates websites that target users under the age of 13 regardless of whether the site collects data or websites that collect data from users under 13, even if they’re not directed at that demographic. Usually, sites that collect information from children under the age of 13 must receive consent from the child’s parent or guardian first.

Additionally, the California Online Privacy Protection Act (commonly referred to as CalOPPA) is a privacy law that requires businesses that collect any user information in California to have a Privacy Policy. It requires that a website’s Privacy Policy clearly be visible to users and enforces the word "privacy" as part of the notice title.

California has another important law that governs data collection and online privacy, called the California Consumer Privacy Act (commonly referred to as CCPA). CCPA gives users more control over their data, allowing them a more active role within the data-gathering process.

These laws pertain only to data collected from residents of the state of California. However, any website with customers or clients within California must abide by these laws. The CCPA is only applicable to websites that do for-profit business in California and meet at least one of these thresholds:

  • Have annual gross revenues over 25 million USD
  • Buys, sells, shares, or receives the personal information of 50,000 or more California consumers, households, or devices
  • Derives 50% or more of its annual revenues from selling California residents' personal information

As a result, if you do business in California and meet at least one of the thresholds above, it is important that you abide by the CCPA regardless of where you are based.

International Privacy Policy Laws

There are international laws to consider when crafting a Privacy Policy for your website, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) act from the EU, which was a strong inspiration for California’s CCPA. Much like CCPA, the GDPR grants users more control over the collection of their data. The act outlines six principles as the foundation for its requirements:

  • Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency
  • Limitation of purpose
  • Data minimization
  • Accuracy
  • Storage limitations
  • Data privacy and integrity

Like the California laws, the GDPR applies to all websites that offer goods and services to individuals in the EU or track the online behavior of people from the EU, whether they are based there or not. If you are doing business within the European Union, you must comply with the GDPR.

Part of the act pertains to how websites present notices to the public. To comply with the GDPR, you must ensure that your website’s Privacy Policy is:

  • Written in plain language (avoiding jargon)
  • Concise
  • Transparent
  • Easily accessible
  • Free of charge

The GDPR also establishes eight user rights that you must include in your Privacy Policy:

  • The right to data portability
  • The right to object
  • The right to not be subjected to automated decision-making
  • The right to restriction of processing
  • The right to be forgotten
  • The right to be informed
  • The right of access
  • The right of rectification

LawDepot’s Website Privacy Policy template allows you to state whether you do business in areas like California and the EU that have specific laws regarding user data. We make sure your notice complies with all the necessary laws in the areas in which you conduct business.

How often should I update my Privacy Policy?

A Privacy Policy isn’t something you create once and never revise again. You should update this important document regularly. Best practices suggest reviewing and updating your Privacy Policy annually. However, if your company or entity experiences certain changes, don’t wait to update your Privacy Policy. Be proactive in preventing problems and minimizing risk.

Notable changes that may require you to update your policy include:

  • Adopting new technology as part of the company
  • A data breach occurs
  • New laws regulating data usage come into effect
  • Potential new threats

Don’t wait to update your Privacy Policy. Instead of waiting for an incident like a security breach to occur, prepare for the worst by keeping your security practices and Privacy Policy up-to-date.

Once you update your Privacy Policy, it’s important to let your customers know before the changes come into effect. Depending on your jurisdiction, you could also be legally required to inform your customers, clients, or users.

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