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Privacy policies are legal documents that inform users about how their personal data is handled and what rights they can exercise over their data, such as the right to data deletion. They will typically contain details about the type of personal information collected, who it’s shared with, and how it’s stored.
To further elaborate, a privacy policy:
Users don’t need to consent to privacy policies because they are not a legal contract between the website and the user. Instead, a privacy policy is an informative document that helps businesses comply with privacy laws by being transparent about they collect and use personal data.
Privacy policies are required by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA), three major data privacy regulations. Other regional laws may also require you generate a privacy policy, such as the Colorado Privacy Act, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, or the Connecticut Personal Data Privacy and Online Monitoring Act.
It also informs them of their rights under GDPR, CCPA, CalOPPA, and more. This information is something that users can hold up as proof of a breach of their rights in the event their data is unlawfully used.
In contrast, terms and conditions are meant to protect a website or app’s owner. They limit your liability by explaining what should be expected from the service and how users should conduct themselves. Additionally, terms and conditions help keep the community aspect of a site or app safe and amiable with rules for community interactions. And lastly, they express the copyright rights that the business owner might hold and how their copyright can and can’t be used.
Privacy policies are required by several data policy laws around the world. If a privacy policy does not inform users about processing of personal data sufficiently, it can be punished by governing bodies with fines or other penalties. Terms and conditions, on the other hand, are not mandatory under applicable laws. They enable websites and apps to limit their liability and enforce their own terms for users. They can also restate the owner’s copyright and intellectual property rights, which are protected by law.
A privacy policy discloses how data will be collected, used, and managed. It also explains what type of personal data is collected, for what purpose, and how the user can access their data and even delete it. Additionally, it goes over any possibility of that data being transferred to a domestic third party or overseas. Terms and conditions outline what the users can expect from a website or app’s service and what is expected of the user. For example, there may be rules related to payment, community, copyright, and liability terms. In addition, they set the rules for the owner and the user and how the relationship between the two should be conducted. Finally, these agreements will also include a disclosure of penalties for failing to adhere to the terms and conditions.
If you plan to include both a privacy policy and terms and conditions, your next question may be whether to combine them or keep them as separate documents. It seems as though combining both agreements into one will be easier, both for you and for the users. But combining privacy policies with terms and conditions can often lead to a long, complicated document that is difficult to read. Privacy policies require numerous clauses unique to them, and when combined with terms and conditions, the agreement can be overwhelming for readers. Instead, consider drafting separate documents and linking them together. Include a reference — with a link — to your privacy policy within your terms and conditions and vice versa. That way, your users know to read both carefully but aren’t bogged down by too much information.