A good Privacy Policy helps a website build trust with its users. It creates transparency and shows that the website acknowledges and respects the privacy rights of everyone who visits the website. Not to mention a good Privacy Policy Generator will protect you from fines and lawsuits.
So, naturally, you’d expect Privacy Policy Generators that create Privacy Policies to be trustworthy as well.
Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
While Privacy Policy Generators can be excellent options for websites that can’t afford to keep an attorney on retainer, many out there simply don’t work. When faced with dozens of options to choose from, it can be hard to know what to look for in a good one. That’s why we’ve come up with five things to look for in a trustworthy Privacy Policy Generator.
But first, do you even need a Privacy Policy?
Does your website need a Privacy Policy?
The best way to avoid sketchy Privacy Policy Generators is to not be required by any laws to have a Privacy Policy. However, that’s becoming increasingly rare these days as most modern websites are required to have a Privacy Policy.
A Privacy Policy is a document that explains your privacy practices, such as what information you collect, what you do with that information, and who you share it with.
Websites that collect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) may be required to have a Privacy Policy by applicable privacy laws. PII is defined as any information that could identify a specific person or any information relating to a specific person. Examples of PII commonly collected by websites include:
- Names
- Phone numbers
- Email addresses
- Physical addresses
- IP addresses
Most modern websites collect this information through features such as:
- Contact forms
- Newsletter sign-up forms
- Account creation forms
- eCommerce tools
- Analytics tools
- Digital ad tools and pixels
If any of these sound familiar, you may be required by multiple privacy laws (no matter how big/small your business is) to have a Privacy Policy that contains:
- Any disclosures required by the privacy laws that apply to you; and
- Accurate disclosures about your actual business and privacy practices.
Failing to do so could lead to some hefty fines. Many laws start their fines at $2,500 per website visitor whose rights have been violated. As you can imagine, this can add up quickly!
How do you get a Privacy Policy for your website?
There are two main ways for website owners to draft a Privacy Policy: an attorney or a Privacy Policy Generator
- Attorney – An attorney who focuses their work on privacy law is by far the best option for website owners who can afford one. An attorney can draft your policies and keep them updated as new laws go into effect and/or your website’s privacy practices change. The big difference between an attorney and a Privacy Policy Generator is that the attorney can offer legal advice (while a generator cannot).
- Privacy Policy Generator – a good Privacy Policy Generator will also create your policies and auto-update them as laws change or new laws go into effect. The primary benefit of a generator is that it is a far more affordable alternative to an attorney.
Given the name of this blog, it’s safe to say you’re probably more interested in the Privacy Policy Generator. So, here are five things to look for to ensure you’re using a trustworthy generator to protect your website.
Note: While generators are great for most websites, certain businesses may not be a good fit. These are typically:
- Websites that offer financial services (loans, banking services, etc.);
- Websites that collect protected health information and need to comply with HIPAA;
- Websites managed by government entities;
- Businesses that are looking for legal advice.
5 Things to look for in a good Privacy Policy Generator
Your Privacy Policy will not only protect you from fines and lawsuits, but also protect the privacy rights of your visitors. So it’s important to get it done right. Some generators do that better than others. These are the five things to look for in a Privacy Policy Generator.
1) Upfront pricing (no hidden costs)
There are a bunch of Privacy Policy Generators competing to be at the top of Google search results. One of the most popular keywords for this topic is “Free Privacy Policy Generator.” Many generators claim that they are free to capitalize on this.
However, once you’ve begun the generation process, these generators will upcharge you at various points. Some generators will charge you extra if you are creating the policies for a business and others will charge extra based on the clauses that your policy needs to contain (e.g. GDPR compliance).
There are three major issues with this:
- You may end up with a much higher bill than you anticipate.
- By not agreeing to certain upcharges, you may end up with a Privacy Policy that isn’t fully compliant.
- Privacy Policies are about trust and transparency, so if a generator isn’t doing that itself, it’s a bad sign.
Look for a generator that has a pricing page with a clear, upfront price and no surprises.
2) Does it ask the right questions?
Since the disclosures in your Privacy Policy are dictated by the privacy laws that apply to you, it is crucial that the generator first asks you questions about your business to determine which laws apply to your website. A good generator will ask you questions about your business and then let you know what privacy laws likely apply to you (and create disclosures based on those laws).
Some generators may just ask you, “Would you like to comply with GDPR?” Questions like this should be considered a red flag since it’s not a matter of “would you like to,” but “do you need to?” Most website owners probably aren’t sure and need a generator that can take information about the business and recommend the appropriate privacy laws.
3) It doesn’t make assumptions
As discussed above, your Privacy Policy must match your actual business and privacy practices for it to be compliant. Some generators will make a lot of assumptions about your business such as:
- It assumes you engage in targeted advertising
- It assumes you use analytics tools
- It assumes your website lets people create accounts
- It assumes your website has security measures in place
If any of these assumptions are false, the Privacy Policy these generators create will include false claims that might confuse website visitors and make your website non-compliant with applicable privacy laws.
4) There’s legal expertise on staff
Privacy law is complicated. It’s common for current laws to go through changes and amendments while, at the same time, new privacy laws are always going into effect. At any given time, dozens of privacy bills are also being drafted that may soon become law.
In order to keep up with the complexities of privacy law, a generator must have an attorney who’s familiar with privacy law on staff. Many generators are only staffed by tech engineers and struggle to keep up with the changing privacy-law landscape. Using these generators could mean that the policies created for you are not fully up to date or don’t contain the correct disclosures required by laws currently in effect.
A good way to check and see if a generator has a legal expert on staff is to go to their “About Us” page or search their employees on LinkedIn.
5) Does it auto-update customers’ policies?
We mentioned before that privacy law is complicated and always changing. A Privacy Policy drafted a few years ago may no longer be compliant by today’s standards. This means you may have to pay to generate new policies every few years if the generator does not update your policies through time.
Note: Some generators advertise that they update their policies, but they do not (or update them well-past when the law went into effect).
A better option is to opt for a Privacy Policy Generator that automatically updates your policies as laws change or new laws go into effect. This way, your policies stay updated without you having to do any extra work or remember to update them.
Looking for a trustworthy generator?
If you’re looking for a Privacy Policy Generator for your website, we hope this blog has helped you narrow down your search. While we encourage everyone to do their own research and find a generator that fits their specific needs, we do recommend Termageddon as a privacy-friendly option for those who can’t decide.
Termageddon’s president is a privacy attorney, and it was the first Privacy Policy Generator recommended by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). They will also notify their customers when laws are changing/going into effect. If these changes apply to a customer’s website, they will auto-update their policies for them with any new disclosures that are needed.
Hopefully you found this helpful, and we will see you next time!
