Why You Need A Blog Privacy Policy

A blog privacy policy is one of the first pages you should create on your new blog.

As a new blogger, I am sure you look at all the legalese involved and think – I can’t do that.

But the thing is – you really have to create one.

This is because various governing agencies require that you be transparent with your readers about the personal data that you collect.

What Is A Privacy Policy?

This article on the Web Hosting Secret Revealed website puts it best:

A privacy policy is a document that details what personal information you collect from your users, how you use it, and how you keep it private.

Yes – Your Little Blog is Collecting Data

You might think that you are not collecting any earth shattering information via your blog. After all, you are just writing.

But think again.

If you have a simple contact form on your website, you are collecting personal information.

Who Says You Need a Blog Privacy Policy?

Advertisers use cookies to track all kinds of consumer behaviors – so if you show any ads on your site then you need a blog privacy policy.

Affiliate programs that you join actually require that you have a privacy policy because they use “cookies” to track your affiliate commissions – among other things.

Have you heard of GDPR? The EU Data Protection Regulation has strict guidelines that may apply to your blog even if you are not in the European Union.

Even Google Analytics requires that you have a blog Privacy Policy in place if you use their service (see item number 7)

This is just a few examples of why you need a blog privacy policy.

Every blogger will use different products and services on their sites that collect reader data in different ways.

How to Create a Blog Privacy Policy

Now that I’ve convinced you that yes, you do indeed need a blog privacy policy – the big question is how do you get one.

This question is harder to answer.

The right answer is to call an attorney and have them draft one for you.

But, I don’t know your budget and I don’t know how much lawyers cost.

Option 2, should you choose, would be to try and draft one on your own.

Again, I am not an expert, so make your own conclusions on how to use this information.

However, I recently was introduced to Amira at A Self Guru who is both a lawyer and a blogger.

To help the blogging community she created and sells (at a very reasonable price) several legal page templates that your blog needs – you can find them here:

• a Privacy Policy template for your blog
• a Legal Pages bundle (includes Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, Disclaimer, and 9 bonuses)

If you don’t want to waste hours second guessing yourself as you create your own privacy policy – then take a look at what Amira has to offer.

You may also want to look at these resources:

• TermsFeed has an excellent and in depth look at privacy policies and the requirements
• Free Privacy Policy has a sample here (I have not used this service)

Remember, your privacy policy will be unique to your blog and geared towards your users and advertisers.

You May Need to Update Your Old Privacy Policy

If you have been blogging for awhile, you may have checked the “I need a blog Privacy Policy” item off of your list years ago.

I certainly thought mine was all buttoned up.

But in writing this article, I found a few things on my own that updated and changed.

So, it is worth revisiting on a regular basis.

Be Sure To Link To Your Privacy Policy

It is also important to link to your Privacy Policy from every page/post on your site as well as from your email sign up forms.

The way that I accomplish this is by including the link in the footer of my blog. Some people will include a link in their top menu instead.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that you need to have a privacy policy on your blog or website because it is most likely required by law and it is a best practice.