The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a data protection and privacy law that organizations monitoring or processing the personal data of users within the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA) must follow.
Privacy policies are central to GDPR compliance because they help you fulfill obligations for transparency, informed consent, and disclosure of user rights. They’re also often your customers’ first touchpoint with your company’s data practices.
An effective privacy policy can demonstrate your commitment to strong privacy standards and build trust with users while also helping you achieve regulatory compliance. But the GDPR’s requirements are complex, and every company’s operations are different, which makes writing a privacy policy from scratch a challenge.
Our downloadable template below will give you a head start. We also explain why a privacy policy is essential, what information you need to include, and where to publish it on your website.
Key takeaways
- Any business that monitors and/or collects/processes the personal data of people located in the EU or EEA must comply with the GDPR, even without a physical presence in Europe.
- A GDPR template can help you create a compliant privacy policy and reduce the risk of fines by helping you cover all key legal requirements.
- A GDPR-compliant privacy policy must clearly state users’ rights and how to exercise them, what data is collected, why and how it’s processed, who accesses and controls the data, and how long it’s retained.
- Privacy policies must be easily accessible. Yours should be linked on every website page and consent form to help users make informed decisions.
- Templates alone aren’t enough for full GDPR compliance. Businesses need ongoing consent management, regular policy updates, and additional functions to achieve and maintain compliance.
Does your business need to comply with the GDPR?
Your company is subject to GDPR requirements if it monitors and/or collects, processes, or stores the data of any individuals located in the EU or EEA. Compliance obligations extend to both data controllers and processors.
Controllers collect and control data — including ordering data processing — while processors are often the third-party services that manage, analyze, and/or store data on behalf of other entities.
Your company doesn’t need a physical presence in Europe to fall under the scope of the GDPR. It only matters if you access European residents’ data. Only a handful of cases are exempt, such as people collecting personal information for household tasks or research institutions that have fully anonymized data. Data processing also requires a legal basis under the GDPR, and user consent is one such option.
Why should you use a GDPR template?
A GDPR template helps you develop a compliant privacy policy to inform data subjects of their rights, along with providing information on how you process their personal data. It provides a standardized structure for your privacy policy that makes it simpler to build internal consistency and apply periodic updates.
Most importantly, a GDPR template reduces your chances of overlooking compliance requirements and leaving yourself open to the risk of complaints, fines, and other penalties, which can cause lasting damage to your business.
For example, the Spanish bank BBVA received a EUR 5 million fine from the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD), EUR 2 million of which was directly related to the bank’s failures, including:
- Using precise terminology in its privacy policy
- Providing adequate information about the type of personal data that might be processed
- Properly identifying the purpose and legal basis for data processing in its privacy statement
But while a template is beneficial, it’s just a place to start and has limitations. Your company is responsible for adapting to the requirements of evolving data protection laws and changing business practices. It’s your organization’s responsibility to customize your privacy policy and keep it up to date.
What should a GDPR-compliant privacy policy include?
EU authorities provide guidelines on what a compliant privacy policy should look like. You must verify that the template you use aligns with these standards and includes the following:
- Identity and contact details of the controller: Under Art. 13 GDPR, you must identify the data controller (in this case, your company) and provide contact information like a telephone number and email address.
- Information about the Data Protection Officer (DPO): If you process data on a large scale or with high risk levels, Art. 37 GDPR requires you to appoint a DPO (national law variations might also require a DPO). You must acknowledge them in your privacy policy and provide their contact information.
- Types of data collected: The GDPR requires you to list the types of data you collect, such as full names, mailing addresses, or payment details.
- Specific purpose for processing: You must explain why you collect and process each type of personal data. For example, you might state that you request users’ email addresses to send them account updates and marketing materials.
- Legal basis for processing: Art. 6 GDPR lays out six lawful grounds for processing personal data, including consent, performing a contract, and legitimate interests. You must explain which one applies, how you meet the requirements, and demonstrate that your data processing doesn’t infringe on data subject rights.
- Data sharing and transfers: Users are entitled to know whether you plan to share personal data with third parties or transfer it outside the EU/EEA. You must name any external providers or partners, explain their roles as data processors, and confirm that they meet GDPR standards through a data processing agreement (DPA).
- Data retention policies: You must specify for how long you store personal data or the criteria you use to determine the retention period. The GDPR doesn’t mandate specific retention periods, but requires they be as short as possible while fulfilling the processing purpose. This helps demonstrate your compliance with the storage limitation principle under Art. 5 GDPR.
- Tracking tools: Websites use cookies, pixels, and similar tracking technologies for automatic data collection. You must list the ones you use and state whether you’re required to obtain permission before they are activated on a user’s device. Only essential cookies that are needed to make sites function correctly can be set without consent.
- Marketing communications: If you collect information for marketing purposes, like personalized newsletters and website pop-ups, you must state whether you need consent to do so and how users can opt out of receiving such communications.
- User rights: Users must be able to clearly understand their rights under the GDPR, including their rights to access, erasure, correction, and objection to processing. Clarify that they can withdraw consent at any time and show them how to contact your organization to make a data subject access request (DSAR).
- Data breach procedures: Art. 33 GDPR requires you to explain how you plan to notify the authorities in the event of a data breach. Art. 34 GDPR outlines compliant processes for notifying affected data subjects. The GDPR mandates notifying authorities and affected consumers in specific circumstances.
- Policy updates: You must explain how and when you update your privacy policy, including the date of last update (and, ideally, a link to the previous version). Also indicate how you will inform users of those updates.
Where should you display your GDPR privacy policy?
The GDPR requires businesses to make privacy policies easily accessible and understandable to the average person, so no legal or technical jargon. Your website visitors should be able to reach it from every page on your site, ideally via a link in the footer. If you have a mobile app, you can include it in the menu bar or settings.
Including a link at key data collection points is also important, e.g. at ecommerce checkout and on cookie banners and pop-ups to help make sure individuals can easily learn about your data handling, and to help ensure that you collect informed consent for data processing activities.
Finally, make it easy for users to know what they’re clicking on. You should clearly label the link as ‘privacy policy’ or ‘privacy notice.’ Many websites also provide multilingual options so users can read the policy in their preferred language.
GDPR privacy policy downloadable template
Now it’s time to actually build out your privacy notice. We’ve created a downloadable and customizable template you can use to develop a privacy policy for your website. It’s based on GDPR compliance best practices and includes all the sections listed above, with fields for your organization’s information.
Privacy policies cover a wide range of data processing activities, and we’ve aimed to be as comprehensive as possible. However, you can add or remove sections to meet your needs.
Are privacy policy templates enough for GDPR compliance?
A privacy policy template is a helpful tool, but it’s not enough for comprehensive GDPR implementation. It only covers transparency, not how your business actually plans, manages, and monitors data privacy practices. Relying solely on a template can lead to:
- Outdated information: Templates don’t automatically update as regulations or business operations change. Failing to stay up-to-date can lead to inaccuracies that EU regulators may see as misleading.
- Incomplete records: The GDPR requires you to keep a continuous record of consent, not just details of your data practices.
- Gaps in data management: Businesses must obtain informed consent to process personal data. While templates may outline user rights under the GDPR, they can’t prevent tools from automatically collecting user information before consent is given.
- No internal guidance: A privacy policy doesn’t explain to your team how to maintain compliance. Typically, you need a data protection policy that outlines how teams should collect, store, and process information and respond to DSARs.
Gaps in your privacy policy can have significant consequences. For example, the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) recently fined TikTok EUR 530 million for omitting details about data transfers in its privacy policy.
Instead of relying on a template as the center of your compliance strategy, make it a part of your overall data privacy framework. Complement it with tools for ongoing consent management, data mapping, and policy generation and updates, as well as ongoing internal training and upskilling.
Beyond templates: How Usercentrics supports ongoing GDPR compliance
While a template is a great start, successful GDPR compliance demands continuous monitoring and adaptation. A single document can’t help you organize and document real-time data and consent management.
With Usercentrics, you can generate and maintain privacy policies that reflect current regulations. What’s more, with the help of our automated consent management platform (CMP), you can also collect consent, manage tracking tools, and keep audit-ready records.
The CMP’s geolocation features mean banners, pop-ups, and policies adapt to each user’s current region. It simplifies data privacy compliance across jurisdictions and reduces your risk of penalties.
We chose Usercentrics CMP because it offers a wide range of customization features, seamless integration with our existing systems, and an intuitive user interface,” says Alessio Di Vietro, Chief Information Officer at Paul & Shark. “Additionally, it provides us with constant regulatory compliance updates, so that our website remains aligned with ever-changing privacy laws.
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