We all make mistakes. For example, I once dated a guy who had snakes as pets. But hey, I was younger then so hopefully all is forgiven.
Unfortunately, there’s one massive mistake on the Internet that is weirding me out even more than my ex-snake-handling-boyfriend did. I am sure you have all seen the words “Privacy Policy” hyperlinked in the footers of websites all across the Internet. What if I were to tell you that they all technically have it wrong? Every. Single. One. Of. Them. How cool is that?!
It also just occurred to me that my irrational passion for Privacy Policies is probably weirder than owning serpents. Maybe he’s the one that dodged a bullet…
Anyways.
Privacy Policy & Privacy Notice Defined
So, claiming the entire Internet is wrong is a pretty bold statement that usually only my Grandfather makes, but I do have some evidence to back it up: the definitions. This is how the International Association of Privacy Professionals defines “Privacy Policy” and “Privacy Notice.”
Privacy Policy – an internal document that states how a particular company will process, use and disclose data obtained through a website or application.
Did you catch that? “An internal document.” Let’s compare that to the definition of a “Privacy Notice.”
Privacy Notice – an external statement that details to the visitor or user what information will be collected, how that information will be used and who it will be disclosed to, among other things.
So, if a website’s Privacy Notice is designed to let users (aka external visitors) know about the website’s privacy habits, shouldn’t everyone have a Privacy Notice in their footer?
So, where do we go from here?
I have to admit that this has kept me up at night quite a bit because I’m a lawyer and have no friends but which term should we use?
Obviously we want to make sure that we are using the correct terminology but since most websites state “Privacy Policy,” wouldn’t it be more advantageous to use a term that most people will recognize as the right place to learn about their privacy? In short, we’re all using the wrong term. Is it worth demanding the entire Internet change how things have been done for decades over a small difference in definitions? That’s up to you. In the meantime, our website will stick with having a “Privacy Policy” in the footer since there is a unanimous understanding of what that is.
Plus, we have written dozens of blog posts that only use “Privacy Policy,” such as:
- Where can I get a Privacy Policy for my website?
- What are Privacy Policies?
- Five Signs Your Privacy Policy Needs To Be Updated
So, maybe we should just forget this whole thing ever happened and move on with our lives. Kind of like what I did with snake guy. I wonder what he’s doing now…
