Privacy is a big buzzword on the internet these days, in large part because of how much of our personal information we put on the web. Based on the countless photos we upload to social media, it seems like many people aren’t all that concerned about their digital privacy. But when you ask them how they feel about other websites tracking their online activities, their answers might surprise you.
With cookies and pixels, websites try to track user behavior to allegedly deliver a better user experience. But in reality, many people resent this and view it as an invasion of privacy. This is something all website owners should be mindful of as they manage this complex aspect of their digital presence.
Could Cookies Lead to Legal Woes?
Cookies and tracking pixels are currently used to track web traffic, user behavior on a website, deliver personalized ads, and more. However, many people don’t want their behavior to be tracked in this way — and many websites make it difficult to opt out of such tracking.
Notably, growing customer resentment has actually led to lawsuits, with plaintiffs filing complaints against healthcare websites citing violations of wiretapping laws, breach of duties, invasion of privacy, and other serious claims.
In the United Kingdom, legislation has been introduced with a focus on eliminating “website design tricks” that encourage people to hand over excess personal information. This includes cracking down on websites that make it hard for users to reject all cookies, having complicated privacy controls, or using leading language, discounts, bundling choices and other methods to get people to share personal information.
While you might think that cookies and tracking pixels can help your marketing, you shouldn’t be reliant on them — especially with browsers such as Firefox implementing additional cookie restrictions. Cookies are delivering diminishing returns while also becoming legally murkier. If you do use cookies, make sure it is easy for users to opt out if desired.
Prepare For Other Privacy Risks
Cookies aren’t the only area where you need to be mindful of your users’ privacy. Even without cookies, many businesses naturally accrue customer data when users create a digital account or make a purchase online.
In these instances, customers have willingly provided information like their home address and credit card data to complete a purchase. In the wrong hands, this information could be used for identity theft — and that makes businesses an attractive target to hackers.
Because of this, protecting your users’ privacy also extends to ensuring you have a strong data security infrastructure in place. Auditing your compliance with cybersecurity standards, ensuring all software and plugins are up to date, and training your team on basic online security will keep your network (and customer data) secure.
If your own negligence is responsible for a data breach, you could be held financially liable for identity theft experienced by your customers.
Respect Privacy
Respecting the privacy of your customers isn’t just the morally correct thing to do — it also offers much-needed protection for your business in today’s digital landscape. Make privacy a priority, and keep your site secure with Site Rockstar’s website care plans to deliver a better experience for your users. And if you don’t have a privacy or cookie policy, just contact us and we can help you get it up to code! When you put user privacy first, you can gain the trust of your customers and enjoy better long-term results for your business.
