A couple of clients have asked me whether they need a privacy policy for their website. The short answer: yes, if you collect any personally identifiable information from a viewer, even an email address.

I started to wonder if this would apply to me, so I dug in and did a little research. Here’s what I found:

  • The Consumer Federation of California has a good explanation of the law, in reasonably plain English. 
  • The Better Business Bureau, bless their hearts, has a simple template that will likely meet most of your needs.

As with all things legal, please have your lawyer review your final document!