Who we are?

In this section, you should note your site URL, as well as the name of the company, organization, or individual behind it, and some accurate contact information.

The amount of information you may be required to show will vary depending on your local or national business regulations. You may, for example, be required to display a physical address, a registered address, or your company registration number.

What personal data do we collect, and why do we collect it?

In this section, you should note what personal data you collect from users and site visitors. This may include personal data, such as name, email address, personal account preferences; transactional data, such as purchase information; and technical data, such as cookies. You should also note any collection and retention of sensitive personal data, such as data concerning health.

In addition to listing what personal data you collect, you need to note why you collect it. These explanations must note either the legal basis for your data collection and retention or the active consent the user has given.

Personal data is not just created by a user’s interactions with your site. Personal information is also generated from technical processes such as contact forms, comments, cookies, analytics, and third-party embeds.

By default, WordPress does not collect any personal data about visitors and only collects the data shown on the User Profile screen from registered users. However, some of your plugins may collect personal data. You should add the relevant information below.

Comments

In this subsection, you should note what information is captured through comments. We have noted the data which WordPress collects by default.

Media

This subsection should note what information may be disclosed by users who can upload media files. All uploaded files are usually publicly accessible.

Contact forms

By default, WordPress does not include a contact form. Using a contact form plugin, use this subsection to note what personal data is captured when someone submits a contact form and how long you keep it. For example, you may note that you keep contact form submissions for a certain period for customer service purposes. Still, you do not use the information submitted through them for marketing purposes.

Cookies

In this subsection, you should list the cookies your website uses, including those set by your plugins, social media, and analytics. We have provided the cookies which WordPress installs by default.

Analytics

In this subsection, you should note what analytics package you use, how users can opt out of analytics tracking, and a link to your analytics provider’s privacy policy, if any.

By default, WordPress does not collect any analytics data. However, many web hosting accounts collect some anonymous analytics data. You may also have installed a WordPress plugin that provides analytics services. In that case, add information from that plugin here.

Who we share your data with

In this section, you should name and list all third-party providers with whom you share site data, including partners, cloud-based services, payment processors, and third-party service providers, and note what data you share with them and why. Link to their own privacy policies if possible.

By default, WordPress does not share any personal data with anyone.

How long do we retain your data?

This section should explain how long you retain personal data collected or processed by the website. While it is your responsibility to determine how long you keep each dataset for and why you own it, that information needs to be listed here. For example, you may want to say that you keep contact form entries for six months, analytics records for a year, and customer purchase records for ten years.

What rights do you have over your data?

This section should explain what rights your users have over their data and how they can invoke those rights.

Where do we send your data?

This section should list all transfers of your site data outside the European Union and describe how that data is safeguarded to European data protection standards. This could include your web hosting, cloud storage, or other third-party services.

European data protection law requires data about European residents transferred outside the European Union to be safeguarded to the same standards as if the data was in Europe.

So, in addition to listing where data goes, you should describe how you ensure that these standards are met either by yourself or by your third-party providers, whether through an agreement such as Privacy Shield, model clauses in your contracts, or binding corporate rules.

Contact information

In this section, you should provide a contact method for privacy-specific concerns. If you are required to have a Data Protection Officer, list their name and full contact details here.

Additional information

Suppose you use your site for commercial purposes and engage in the more complex collection or processing of personal data. In that case, you should note the following information in your privacy policy in addition to the information we have already discussed.

How do we protect your data?

In this section, you should explain what measures you have taken to protect your users’ data. This could include technical measures such as encryption, security measures such as two-factor authentication, and staff training in data protection. If you have carried out a Privacy Impact Assessment, you can mention it here too.

What data breach procedures do we have in place?

In this section, you should explain what procedures you have in place to deal with data breaches, either potential or real, such as internal reporting systems, contact mechanisms, or bug bounties.

What third parties do we receive data from?

If your website receives data about users from third parties, including advertisers, this information must include within the section of your privacy policy dealing with third-party data.

What automated decision-making or profiling do we do with user data?

Suppose your website provides a service that includes automated decision-making – for example, allowing customers to apply for credit or aggregating their data into an advertising profile. You must note that this is taking place, and include information about how that information is used, what decisions are made with that aggregated data, and what rights users have over decisions without human intervention.

Industry regulatory disclosure requirements

If you are a member of a regulated industry or are subject to additional privacy laws, you may be required to disclose that information here.