Forum Moderators: phranque
In my websites we have not placed "Privacy Policy"...Is this really matters/impact to the users on the website that their browsing..
Please anyone can explain in detail what will be the importance / benefits for the websites by placing "Privacy Policy" option?
Waiting for the reply,
James Peterson.
I don't know about the "average" web surfer. Maybe he/she doesn't even know what a privacy policy is. But having one on your site is a good indication that you have thought about the issues that a privacy policy addresses, care enough about those issues to set standards for yourself to abide by, and understand the point of view of your visitors sufficiently to want to provide them some assurances.
A simple privacy policy is easy to put together. If a site doesn't have one, I consider it unprofessional. I figure that it is either ignorant about the privacy issues involved in a website operation, or that it doesn't care enough about its visitors to provide certain basic assurances, or that is trying to hide something, or that it's just too sloppy in its operations to be trusted with any information, which it will probably handle sloppily.
I have at least once advised someone to stay away from a site that didn't have a privacy policy because the lack of it reinforced other misgivings I had about the site. I don't think I've ever registered at any site that didn't have one.
Some basic assurances that are good to give your visitors:
We don't use your email address to send spam to you.
We don't sell your email address to others so they can spam you.
or
We DO use your email address to spam you. -- I've seen one PP that nearly said this. That's good. Informed consent is the point here. To tell your visitors what behavior they can expect from you so they can make their own decision.
It is, of course, possible to have a stated PP and then violate it. The downside in that instance is that you may be sued if the violations are sufficient to warrant it. That's another reason why, even though a PP is just words, it does indicate a commitment.
