Monday, October 18, 2010

Small Business Privacy Policy Tool and Guidelines

Do you need a privacy policy for your  website, but don't have the budget? It's okay, because you can use the DMA's privacy policy generator.  Just plug in your company name, check a few boxes, and "bleep!" you got a privacy policy. 

After that, you might want to check out Truste. If you simply want ideas for your privacy policy, can download their application and "self-assessment" checklist for a general feel for what the "best practices" are for online privacy.  It's not cheap to get certified with them, but that's because they:

1) Review your privacy policy with a fine-toothed combe;
2) Send you all kinds of required changes;
3) And then scour your website, looking for anywhere you collect personal information!
4) They even sign up for you email newsletters to test your opt-in process;
5) Register for your products;
6) And use it!

Hope these tools and guidelines help you get started on your privacy policy!

1 comment:

  1. This is a great example on how small companies have an opportunity to validate themselves in order to compete with large firms. One of the first things I look for before giving any information is the privacy policy. Knowing that it's difficult to get validate only makes the consumer feel more at ease.

    ReplyDelete