According to Wikipedia, "A privacy policy template is a legal document that is dealing with the information related to customers' and merchants' private profiles. Such examples could be the instance of a website providing information about the use of personal information - particularly personal information collected via the website - by the website owner. Privacy policies usually contain details of what personal information is collected, how the personal information may be used, the persons to whom the personal information may be disclosed, the security measures taken to protect the personal information, and whether the website uses cookies and/or web bugs.
The main content of a privacy policy is the following:
- which information the server stores: which kind of information is collected (identifying or not); which particular information is collected (IP address, email address, name, etc.);
- use of the collected information: how this information is used (for regular navigation, tracking, personalization, telemarketing, etc.); who will receive this information (only the current company, third party, etc.);
- permanence and visibility: how long information is stored; whether and how the user can access the stored information (read-only, optin, optout).
Most privacy policy templates are free and easy to fill out. Just by "Googling" the word "Privacy Policy Template" you will find a myriad of websites that offer this template as a service both paid and free. A good privacy notice is easy to find, easy to read, and comprehensively explains all your online information practices. It also provides online visitors an opportunity to make informed decisions about the collection and use of their information. As part of good business practices, posting a notice is an important first step in defining your online policies and towards answering one of the major concerns (and barriers) voiced by web-users when going online.
A privacy notice is also a promise. As a promise, it is not enough to simply post such a notice. Careful consideration should therefore go into the creation of a privacy policy template so it accurately reflects your own unique information practices and you can guarantee a faithful adherence to its provisions.
Therefore, a privacy policy template is definitely needed to ensure that a website is being enhanced by a privacy protection program. This is just another way that the World Wide Web is trying to help and prevent the problems that consumers and business owners have in using the web for their business or shopping needs.
