Ecommerce Platform | What to include in your cookies and privacy policy

Ecommerce Platform | What to include in your cookies and privacy policy

What is a Privacy Policy?

Your privacy policy is a document that details how your company/organisation handles any information it gathers. It should reveal the information it plans to collect such as the site visitor's name, address, credit card number, etc. If data is to be left on a user’s computer (such as cookies), this should be specified alongside information on whether the customer’s data will be shared or sold to third parties.

What to include in your Privacy Policy

  1. What information is being collected?
  2. Who is collecting it?
  3. How is it being collected?
  4. How will it be used?
  5. How is the information stored?
  6. Who will it be shared with?
  7. How will this affect the individuals concerned?
  8. Is there a chance the intended use will cause individuals to complain?

It is also important to include the following information in your privacy policy:

  1. A summary of the technical data collected and/or passed on (i.e. IP addresses, email addresses, etc.)
  2. A summary of the personal data collected and/or passed on (i.e. name, address, etc.)
  3. Data transferred from browsers (e.g. browser history)
  4. Information about special features, like sweepstakes, online advertising, etc.
  5. If required, information on the use of web analytics tools such as Google Analytics
  6. Actions taken to ensure the security of data
  7. Information about the user’s right of objection

What is a Cookies Policy?

If you use cookies on your site to collect and store information, it is necessary to include a cookies policy on your site. Cookies are a form of collecting personal data, both the US and EU have created laws that require some type of disclosure of the use of cookies.

A cookies policy is a disclosure by a website of:
  1. What cookies are used by the company
  2. How those cookies are used to collect the private information of visitors
  3. How the user can control the disclosure of information and use of the cookies for collection

What should you include in your Cookies Policy?

You must include:

  1. A definition of cookies
  2. What cookies you use
  3. What you use the cookies for
  4. How users can opt out of adjust settings

A definition of cookies

  1. It is important to use plain language and to clearly state what cookies are so that any of your users may understand what they are and can freely consent to or reject our use of them.
  2. Something like: Cookies are small pieces of data that are downloaded to your device when you visit an application or website.

What cookies you use

  1. There are multiple types of cookies that can be used by a company to collect personal data. You can have session, persistent, secure etc. You must clearly denote what types of cookies are used in a simple, but informative way.

What you use the cookies for

  1. One of the most important piece of your Cookies Policy is including what your cookies are going to be used for, and how you use the information that is collected and stored from the cookies.
  2. Transparency in policy statements is important both under FTC and EU laws. Clearly informing customers of how you handle their personal information will protect you later on if any future issues arise.
  3. Additionally, if you allow third parties such as Google Analytics to have access to your users' information, that must also be disclosed. Third parties use the data as a way to:
    1. Advertise
    2. Research search history
    3. Analyse the dynamics of a website

How users can opt out of adjust settings

  1. Another important clause to include in your Cookies Policy is how users can accept, reject or adjust their cookies settings.
  2. One of the most important changes in the GDPR is that implied consent is no longer accepted. Users must give express consent when it comes to accepting the use of cookies.
  3. Additionally, companies need to provide accessible links to their settings and tips for how users can change them.

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