What is a cookie?
Cookies also referred to as tracking technologies, are a tiny bit of text that a website will store on your device (mobile, computer, tablet), usually, inside the browser you are using. The text can be a user ID, session ID, or any other text that provides some information about how you used the website. It may track which pages you visited, anything that you added to a cart, or if you clicked a link on the site to look at an ad. A cookie can also be used to remember if you logged into a website so that you don’t need to log back in on your next visit.
If you clear your cookies, you’ll be logged out of all websites and websites won’t remember any settings you’ve changed on them, or anything you stored in a cart, for example.
Cookies are very common – you have many stored in your browser right now.
How cookies work
Your web browser stores and manages cookies. You can find a list of websites storing cookies and view the cookies themselves in your browser’s settings. If you use multiple web browsers on your computer, each browser has its own set of cookies.
Websites are only allowed to look at their own cookies. This prevents malicious websites from snooping and stealing your log in sessions.
Good uses for cookies
Cookies have a number of very important uses. Here are a few you may take advantage of in your everyday web use.
- Cookies store your login state for any websites you visit. Websites use cookies to remember and identify you.
- Cookies store preferences on websites. This may be the size of the font used to display the text, or that you prefer to start on the US-specific page rather than the international home page.
- Cookies allow websites to provide information, or content, that is personalized to you. For example, Amazon or eBay can remember the products you’ve browsed and recommend similar products – even if you’re not logged in.
“Not So Good” cookies
Cookies can also be used for more questionable purposes. Advertising and tracking networks use tracking cookies to track you across the web. When you visit a website that uses scripts from an advertising network, that network can set a cookie in your browser. When you visit another website that uses tracking scripts from the same network, the advertising network can check the value of your cookie – it knows the same person visited both websites. In this way, the advertising networks track you across the web.
This information is used to target ads to you – for example, if you search for car insurance and later visit a news website, you may see advertisements for car insurance on the news website. The advertisements may not be related to the website you’re currently on, but they will be related to the websites you were visiting before. Depending on the advertising network, you may be able to opt out of this.
Why are there cookie laws? These things seem innocuous.
A Privacy Policy is a document that discloses what personal information you collect on your website, what you do with that information, and who you share it with, among other disclosures. Your website needs a Privacy Policy if you use it to collect personal information such as names and emails. Most websites collect personal information through the use of contact forms or email newsletter sign-up forms.
Why is a Privacy Policy
important?
IT CAN HELP YOU AVOID FINES AND LAWSUITS
Currently, there are multiple privacy laws in the United States and across the world that require most websites that collect personal information to have a Privacy Policy:
- European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
- United Kingdom’s Data Protection Act 2018 (UK DPA 2018);
- Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA);
- Australia Privacy Act of 1988;
- The California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA);
- The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA);
- Delaware Online Privacy Protection Act (DOPPA);
- Nevada’s Revised Statutes Chapter 603A;
- Colorado Privacy Act (goes into effect in 2023); and
- Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act (goes into effect in 2023).
These laws were created to protect the consumers of those states and countries, not the businesses. This means that these laws can apply to businesses outside of those states and countries and may apply to you if you do business there, collect the personal information of residents of those states or countries, or offer goods or services there.
Fines for violations of privacy laws start at $2,500 per violation (per website visitor).
Why you need to keep your Privacy Policy up to date
NEW PRIVACY BILLS AND THEIR EFFECT
Several states have proposed privacy bills that, if passed, would require websites that collect personal information to have a compliant Privacy Policy. These bills all have different requirements for the disclosures that need to be made in a Privacy Policy and would impose heavy fines for failing to include those disclosures. In fact, some states are proposing to allow consumers to sue businesses directly for not having a compliant Privacy Policy.
More information can be found here: https://termageddon.com/us-privacy-bill-tracker/
If your website gets inquiries from across state lines,
your business may be required to comply with multiple state privacy laws.
Our recommended solution: Termageddon
AN AUTO-UPDATING PRIVACY POLICY TOOL
Termageddon is a Privacy Policy generator that will automatically update your website’s policies whenever the laws change.
For $10/month or $99/year, Cap Web Solutions will set your website up with an auto-updating privacy policy generator can offer you the following policies to protect your website:
- Privacy Policy
- Terms of Service
- Disclaimer
- End User License Agreement
Termageddon is the longest-running Privacy Policy generator listed as a trusted privacy technology vendor by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP.org).
Cap Web Solutions can help. Contact us today to help you get your policies set up in 15 minutes or less.
Protect your business today.
Image Attribution: Typewriter Privacy Policy Image
License permits: Sharing, copying, and redistributing in any medium or format including adapting, remixing, transforming, and building upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The image may be redistributed for free under the same Creative Commons license but may not be sold, attribution is required to obtain and maintain a license.
License: Creative Commons 3 – CC BY-SA 3.0
Original Author: Nick Youngson – link to – http://www.nyphotographic.com/
Original Image: https://www.thebluediamondgallery.com/typewriter/p/privacy-policy.html
