Privacy Policy Template

A Formspal privacy policy template is a ready-made document that tells visitors what personal data your website or app collects, why you collect it, and how you handle it. Use it as a starting point, then adjust each part to match what your business really does.

Last Updated: October 2026. This guide is reviewed and updated regularly to reflect current law. If you notice an error or outdated information, please contact us.

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What Is a Privacy Policy Made For?

A privacy policy is a legal statement that explains what a business does with users’ personal information and why. It also describes the type of data collected and how the collecting party handles it, so visitors can see exactly what happens to their details.

A privacy policy is also called a privacy notice or a privacy statement. All three names describe the same document.

The document is meant to satisfy the requirements of international regulations concerning the use of personal information and browsing the Internet. In addition, a privacy policy is aimed at helping create transparent and honest relations between online businesses and their customers. By cultivating trust and confidence in online users, a privacy policy eliminates their concern about them sharing personal details online.

A privacy policy can be used both for websites and mobile apps, but it should be adapted to the platform a business operates on.

A privacy policy is an important tool for protecting personal information online. Keeping users’ information secure is a core goal for every digital business, and it helps customers see a business as a trustworthy seller or service provider. To feel sure their information is safe, a customer should see that your privacy policy answers their concerns about data safety.

Examples of personal information

By personal information, we mean any information that identifies an individual in one way or another. Common examples are:

  • Email address, phone number
  • First and last name
  • Billing and shipping address
  • Bank card information etc.

Why Do You Need a Privacy Policy?

A privacy policy is required for all online business when it comes to collecting personal data from website visitors or application users, or in any other way. Businesses need a privacy policy mostly in two cases:

  1. When it is required by law for companies using the personal information on the internet.
  2. When it is something expected by consumers dealing with online businesses.

Companies usually place privacy policies in the footer of the website. Along with that, it should be everywhere where a visitor is required to provide personal information.

Who Needs a Privacy Policy?

A privacy policy is needed by the majority of online businesses. It is connected with them offering newsletters, online coupons, and other offers that require a visitor to sign up. Once visitors sign up, a website/app starts collecting the information that is used to identify them.

Among common businesses that collect information from users are:

  1. Websites offering different products and services
  2. Blogs
  3. Retail stores
  4. Mobile and desktop applications
  5. Service-as-a-software applications
  6. Google AdSense and AdWords users etc.

Components of a Privacy Policy

You are unlikely to meet the same privacy policy on different websites as they all offer various products and services. But there are common elements of a privacy policy that concern all online businesses.

Information collected

First and foremost, a privacy policy should contain a section that would explain what information will be taken from a user. The most common data businesses gather from users are:

  • a user’s name and job title
  • a user’s contact information
  • a user’s preferences and interests
  • other details relevant to client-based surveys

Privacy options

This section of a privacy policy should explain what secure storage strategies a business uses. It might be security software or anonymization technologies.

The purpose of a privacy policy

From this part of a privacy policy, a user should learn what will be done to the personal information they decided to provide. For instance, it might be used for the purposes of:

  • a public survey
  • financial analysis
  • internal record keeping
  • improvement and possible promotion of products and services
  • critical market researches etc.

A user should be explained in a privacy policy that even if a business shares their information with third-party partners, they will do so for express purposes of marketing or promotion only. Users should be confident that their personal information will not be sold. This way, the purpose of collecting personal details on the website/app should be disclosed explicitly in an easy-to-understand way.

Users’ rights

Users should be allowed to verify and control the nature of how their personal information is about to be used. They should be explained what actions they might take to keep their personal information private.

The main purpose of this section of a privacy policy is to make website visitors feel comfortable sharing their personal data and making them realize that they might refuse to do that at any moment. They may be given an option to restrict the collection of their personal information. For example, they can check a pop-up box on a business website or in an app to show that they do not want their personal details used.

A privacy policy can also explain how a company handles updates, so users know how they will hear about changes.

Regulatory Acts

There are several regulatory mechanisms for businesses that provide services or sell products on the internet. All these mechanisms are meant to protect the privacy of business clients online. Check those regulatory acts thoroughly as you might need to apply all of them or just one in your privacy policy. Here are some of such regulatory documents:

  • CalOPPA (requires companies to put a privacy policy on their websites; applies for all online businesses that operate in California)
  • COPPA (provides protection for users under 13; applies for all online businesses operating in the USA)
  • GDPR (provides protection of personal data; applies for all online businesses providing services in Europe)
  • CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (sets rules for commercial email; applies for all online businesses operating in the USA)
  • SOPIPA (applies to companies that collect personal data from students in the USA)

What Should Be Included in a Privacy Policy Agreement?

The legislation of a country is the first factor determining what should be included in a privacy policy. But there are some common points in every privacy policy agreement that should be included.

  1. Notice to the users on what will be done to the information collected. Businesses collecting data should disclose the purposes of collecting info prior to taking any actions regarding users’ personal information.
  2. Access to the information collected. The users should be able to review or remove the personal information gathered by the business.
  3. Privacy of personal information. Businesses that gather information on the internet are held liable for its accuracy and privacy which means they are the ones who should take all of the measures to keep it away from unauthorized third parties.
  4. Choice of the information provided. Users should be given the freedom to choose what personal details they want and they don’t want to provide.

A privacy policy agreement is a comprehensive document that needs to include a lot of different nuances of using users’ personal information on the internet. This is why it cannot be done without due attention.

A free privacy policy template from the internet might not fit your specific business. That is why we recommend creating a customized privacy policy. It can be created with the help of our privacy policy generator. All you need to do is to provide crucial information on your company, its services, and some other important details. Then, you can easily download and print your free privacy policy template.

Before you publish your privacy policy, read it once from a visitor’s point of view. Check that every statement matches what your business really does with personal data.

Privacy Policies Required by Third Parties

Many websites and apps use third party services, such as newsletters or partners who contact customers about a product or service. In such a case, third party services would also require users to give consent to their privacy policy.

A privacy policy is also needed when a third party is tracking the browsing behavior of the visitors or their geographical location. Among third party services are Google Analytics and Google Adsense.

For instance, Google Analytics is a common third party app that businesses use to analyze how visitors behave on their website. It shows what actions visitors take, how much time they spend on the website, and more. This makes the websites working with the third party obliged to adhere to their privacy policies to the requirements of Google Analytics and warn users that their behavior will be tracked with the use of cookies.

Privacy policy for Google Analytics

As per Google Analytics (GA), websites that are using GA standard features should include the following type of information in their privacy policies.

  • statement about the usage of GA as a third party for the behavior tracking purpose
  • the ways of collecting and processing data
  • the ways of using cookies to collect personal data

The important thing here is that a privacy policy agreement should be placed in a visible section of the website, usually, in the footer. Or if it is an app that is using GA, it should be located somewhere in the main menu.

To notify visitors about using cookies, a website should place a pop-up banner asking a visitor to provide consent to use cookies on the website. The user should be given a choice on whether to agree to the use of cookies or not.

In case the website is using advertising features along with standard ones, a privacy policy should also include:

  • the way the business is doing remarketing
  • the statement about using Google Display Network Impression and GA
  • demographics, what actual features are used, and how they are used
  • the statement about using cookies to show relevant advertising materials by third parties
  • the method to opt-out of the GA advertising features using Google Ad settings

Privacy policy for Google Adsense

If a website or app is using Google Adsense as a third-party service, a privacy policy agreement should have a certain look too. It should comply with Google Adsense which is why a privacy policy should be updated according to terms and conditions and include:

  • the statement about using Google Adsense and cookies to show relevant ads to visitors based on their previous actions on the net
  • the method to opt-out of the Google Adsense using Google Ad settings

Websites and apps should also put effort into getting consent from a user to use cookies on a PC or mobile phone, depending on what a visitor uses. It should work in the same way as with GA alerts.

Consent to cookies

The consent of a visitor cannot have a form of inaction. It was allowed earlier but now, websites and apps notifying visitors about using cookies cannot get passive consent from them.

It means that consent to cookies should be obtained actively, for example, by clicking a button or checking a box in a pop-up window. The text next to the checkbox or button can vary. Examples are “Yes, I give my consent,” “I am happy with this,” and “I agree.”

Topics for Every Privacy Policy

Every privacy policy will be different as it should be customized to fit a certain type of business. However, some topics are common for every type of website or application. Here are those topics:

The types of information collected

All the personal information that a business is about to collect from a user should be listed in a privacy policy. It includes their IP address, contact information, payment data, name on the credit card, etc. The more details this section includes, the easier it will be for a business to avoid any misunderstandings with their customers.

Methods of data collection

The next section of a privacy policy should be devoted to methods of gathering personal information from users. They should clearly see how the information is achieved from them. It can be done obviously for a user, for example, through a contact form, or not obviously, for instance, on the back-end level.

Ways of information usage

This part tells users how the personal information they agreed to share will be used. The uses can be very different:

  • notifying users about updates
  • advertising products and services
  • sharing info with third-party apps or websites for analytic purposes
  • improving content on the website
  • displaying ads of other advertisers etc.

This part of a privacy policy is a good place to thank users for sharing their personal information and to reassure them about its privacy.

Users under 13

Regardless of whether your website or app is targeted at users under 13 or not, a provision about child privacy is something that you will need in a privacy policy. According to one of the regulatory acts mentioned above (COPPA), you will need to use a specific protocol when creating your privacy policy if you might collect personal information from children under 13.

If you consciously collect personal information from children under 13 and teenagers, a child privacy policy will need to be detailed. A child privacy policy should be written thoroughly as before handling a child’s personal information, a parent’s consent might be needed. Note that a protocol for handling children’s personal details differs drastically from the same for adults.

In a perfect case scenario, you would need a privacy policy on a separate landing page that would adhere to the requirements of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). This regulatory act requires a business to take all the efforts to comply with this document in their privacy policy. It would be wise to first consult with an attorney to make sure a privacy policy agreement is compliant with this requirement.

If your business collects personal information only from adults but children can still visit your website or app, you have to include in your privacy policy a general statement about collecting personal information that would limit your company’s liability if a minor happens to visit your website or app.

Compliance with GDPR

Any company that makes its website or services available to EU citizens, including US companies, should also make sure their privacy policy is compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).  The purpose of such a regulation is to help EU citizens understand how a business collects, secures, uses, and shares their personal information.

Communication with users

This section of a privacy policy is supposed to let your website/app visitors know how their personal information will be handled in case they want to get in touch with you or if you initiate communications with them. Contact information involves personal data, which is why this provision of a privacy policy is an essential one.

By reading this section of a privacy policy, visitors of the website/app should know, how and for what purposes you will reach out to them. For instance, it can say whether they will get notifications daily or less often. It can also say whether the notifications are for marketing or carry important updates. In addition, this section of a privacy policy should include all the methods of communication that you plan to use with your customers.

As well as that, a privacy policy should also help visitors learn how to avoid getting notifications in specified channels of communication, which is required by the CAN-SPAM anti-spam regulations.

Transfers of ownership

This clause might seem unnecessary, but transfers of ownership happen often. Including it is a smart precaution. This would help you limit your liability if you are no longer the owner of a digital business. This clause in a privacy policy should state that if a business transfer happens, customers’ personal information will be passed to a new business owner.

Conflict resolution

This clause can also be included in a privacy policy agreement, even though more details on how the disputes should be resolved between a business and its customers and what laws are applicable should be described in the website/app Terms and Conditions. The clause is relatively simple and should clearly state what measures your company will take to solve any disputes that might arise in the future.

Possible Changes to a Privacy Policy

Users should know that you can bring amendments to your privacy policy at any time. It should be explicitly stated in this part of your privacy policy. Users should be notified about any such changes simultaneously with the change occurring through agreed communication channels. This lets users get a feeling that they will be informed of any changes to the privacy policy they have consented to.

Contact Clause

This section makes a privacy policy even more transparent for users and it should provide contact information they can use in case they want to contact the business with any arising questions or concerns regarding the privacy of their personal information. It would be wise to provide users with a specific email or phone number of the department that manages privacy concerns specifically.

How to Fill Out a Privacy Policy in 5 Steps?

Businesses are free to use any wordings in their privacy notices but there are several essential requirements to what to include in every privacy policy. A privacy policy should always be crafted in plain English and an easy-to-understand manner for a customer.

Let’s use the best practices of creating privacy policies and use a privacy policy created by LinkedIn as an example. But remember that a privacy policy might differ from business to business greatly.

Step 1: Describe the data you collect

Describe the type of data a business collects on its website/in the app. The section of a privacy policy might include:

  • Information users provide: what visitors enter when they register, fill in a profile, or post and upload content.
  • Information from third parties: what you receive when a visitor uses the services of your partners and affiliates.
  • Service use: what usage details you collect while visitors use the service, such as device information and internet protocol (IP) addresses.
  • Cookies and similar technologies: how you use cookies to collect location and device data, and how users can opt out.
  • Device and location: how you record the page a visitor came from, the page they go to, the time of their visit, and network and device details.
  • Messages: how you collect information when visitors interact with messages connected to your website or app.

Step 2: Explain how you use the data

At this stage, your privacy policy should describe the way the collected data is going to be used.

  • Services: say which services use the personal information a visitor provides, how they use it, and whether visitors can choose how it is used.
  • Premium services: explain how visitors can use others’ information when they buy premium options, if you offer any.
  • Communications: explain how your website or app will contact users who agree to it, such as by email, phone, notification, or text message, and whether visitors can change their communication preferences.
  • Advertisements: clarify how you use collected data in advertising, whether users can choose which ads they see, and what information the ads use.
  • Developing services: explain how collected information can help you develop and improve the services your website or app provides.
  • Customer support: state that personal data can be used to improve support for users.
  • Insights: mention that your business might use customers’ personal data to gather statistics, for instance about your employees, a profession, or an industry in general.
  • Privacy: specify that data can also be used for security purposes or to prevent fraud and violations.

Step 3: Say how you share the data

This section of a privacy policy should describe the way of sharing collected information, including the following :

  • Profiles: tell how other users can interact with a user’s profile and what information they can see and use.
  • Service providers: explain which third parties can access a user’s information, for instance services that handle analysis, audits, payments, fraud detection, marketing, and development.
  • legal disclosures (mention the situations when the information disclosure is required by law, for example, for actions that are suspected or actual illegal activities or to assist government enforcement agencies, protect the privacy and integrity of your website or app, etc.)

Step 4: Describe user choices

This part of the privacy policy should tell about a user’s choices and duties regarding your website or service.

  • Data retention: tell users how long your website or app keeps their data.
  • Right to access and control of data: give users choices about how your website or app manages the personal data it collects.
  • Account closure: explain whether users can delete their personal data, how long removal takes, and what information you keep after deletion.

Step 5: Add safeguards and contact details

Here, include other important information you haven’t mentioned in the previous sections of your privacy policy agreement.

  • Privacy safeguards: name the protocols you use, for example HTTPS.
  • cross-border transfers of information (tell that legally provided mechanisms of transferring data can differ from country to country)
  • law background for processing (assure users that personal data is collected only there where there are lawful bases, and a user can always decline their consent to use their personal data)
  • Contact information: give users a contact for questions or complaints about your privacy policy.

The Formspal privacy policy template shows what this document can look like. Create it, add your business name and other details, and use the finished policy on your website or in your app.

Other businesses may use the same template, so your policy could look similar to theirs. If you want a policy that reflects the specifics of your business and covers everything you want to say, use the Formspal privacy policy generator!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a privacy policy template?

The Formspal template is a ready-made privacy policy with the standard parts already laid out. You add your own business details and remove anything that does not apply to your website or app.

How do I create my privacy policy with this template?

The process takes three steps:

  1. Select Create My Document.
  2. Answer a few questions about your business and review the result.
  3. Save your progress if you need a break, then download and print the finished document.

Where do people usually find a privacy policy on a website?

Most sites link to it from the footer, so it appears on every page. You can also link to it next to sign-up forms and checkout pages, where visitors share personal details.

Can I use the same privacy policy for my website and my app?

Many businesses start from the same core text for both. Review it for each platform, because a website and an app can collect different information, such as device details in an Android app.

How often should I review my privacy policy?

Review it whenever your business starts collecting new information or adds a new tool, such as Google Analytics or Google Adsense. A quick check every few months also helps you catch outdated details.

What should I do after I finish my privacy policy?

Add your business name and contact details, then publish the policy on your site and link to it where visitors share information. Keep a copy of each version in a tool such as Google Docs or Microsoft Word, so you can see what changed over time.

General information, not legal or tax advice.

Jennifer M. Settles
Jennifer M. Settles
Author & Attorney
With over 25 years of experience as a business and transactional attorney, Jennifer has mastered the craft of closing highly successful deals for her clients. Through her wide-ranging expertise in commercial contracts, real estate transactions, M&A and corporate law, Jennifer secures results that are second-to-none.
Published: Apr 13, 2022