My Web Training

📖 Privacy Policy

Privacy on the internet may sound like an oxymoron, but people all over the world are taking this very seriously. In May of 2018 the European Union passed legislation known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requiring, in part, websites to notify visitors of their policies concerning the use of their personal data that is collected while on the site. This can range from cookies left on the visitors machines to login and user profile information to post comments. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in hefty fines of up to 4% of a company's annual income. Claiming that you aren't in the EU isn't much of a defense. Some states are now passing laws requiring much of the same.

The fact is that it is just good business to protect your visitors and be transparent about how you will use their information. Even if you don't violate the law and incur fines, you could still be sued for selling someone's personal information or allowing their information to be stolen through a breach of your site's security. If you are building an eCommerce site, you'll want to be sure to cover these aspects of security planning and privacy policies, maybe with an attorney. Even if you're just building a fun site for people to come read your articles and pass that information to your advertisers, you'll want to let people know that's what you're doing. You'll most likely need it if you get sued.

What do you need?

Privacy Policy

Well, that kind of depends on your site's mission and you business plan, but a good start is to have an easily accessible Privacy Policy available for all visitors that outlines the type of content you allow and any information you might be collecting from them as well as the way you intend to use it. Are you using tracking cookies to follow your visitors around the web? Are you selling their email address to advertisers? If you do, you'll want that disclosed. This has been built into the WP core for some time now.

To comply with the GDPR you'll need a notice about cookie usage on your site. Don't be too quick to say, "Oh, I don't use cookies." WordPress does. Also, if you have Google analytics set up for your SEO, you'll be using cookies too. If you make people fill out their email address to post comments, etc., you'll need it.

Terms of Use

You will also benefit from having a Terms of Use agreement for your site to make sure no one has the wrong impression of what they can expect of you. Do you ban people for vulgar language? Do you allow children under 13 to visit? Do you charge a fee for using the site? You'll want that in Terms of Use Policy.

How do you get this done?

There are a variety of ways to create these documents and post them to your site. Again, depending on your business, you might want to contact an Internet Attorney. Yes, there is such a thing. These are attorneys that specialize in laws that govern internet-based websites and companies. You might just be running a personal blog and not feel the need for that much "horsepower" but you might be surprised how many people get sued for exercising "free speech" on the internet. It's best to think carefully about your mission, make a plan and then stick to it.

For our purposes, we'll just need to create these documents without too much regard for the specifics because our sites are educational. But because they are educational, let's try to get them right. One way to ease the burden of creating these first documents is to use a plugin. I know you're thinking, "Do they have a plugin for everything?" The answer would be almost certainly, Yes!

There's a Plugin for That

There may be many. One plugin that seems to fit the need is available at https://wordpress.org/plugins/auto-terms-of-service-and-privacy-policy/. You can probably find it through the plugin tool in your admin area of your site, but if not, you can download and install from WP dot org. Install the plugin and follow the instructions. Most of your questions can be answered from the plugin page, within the plugin or in a good internet search.