A privacy policy is there to inform a user of how a particular website will collect and manage their personal information. If you are a site owner, adhering to correct legislation and doing your best to protect your site from potential litigation is the near the top of the priority list. At My Privacy Policy, we take it one step further and issue both long and short privacy policies so that users can read the condensed policy quickly and then consult the expanded version for more information.

Google has gone one step further and created a dedicated a sub-site: privacy.google.com. The site’s aim is to educate users on how their services (Search, Gmail, Maps, YouTube and Chrome) collect, manage, and use personal information – as well as the security measures they use to keep your information safe. While Google have the resources to build a specific website on privacy, educating your end users builds trust through transparency, and we believe that they heading in the right direction.

On this dedicated website, the following key questions are answered:

• What data does Google collect?
• What does Google do with the data that it collects?
• Does Google sell my personal information?
• What tools do I have to control my Google experience?
• How does Google keep my information safe?
• What can I do to stay safe online?

While it’s definitely a step in the right direction, their answers are at times too simplistic without real world examples. Our advice to Google: link answers to the corresponding sections of the privacy policy to allow extended reading of each key area. Likewise, if users land on the privacy and terms page, give them the option to head privacy.google.com for an alrernate read.

Privacy education is the next big thing. Users are clued up and more cautious than ever, and companies must find the right mix of legal policy and education to attract the ever-cautious visitors without opening themselves up to public backlash or litigation.