The seemingly unending stream of reports about data breaches have customers more worried than ever about how online companies are using their personal data and whether it’s properly protected. The European Commission is responding by tightening consumer privacy regulations. If you have customers in the EU, you’ll need to comply regardless of where your company is based, but even if these new regulations don’t affect you, it’s a good idea to follow these five practices to keep your customers’ trust (and their business):
- Be transparent. Make your privacy policy easy to find and easy to understand.
- Exceed regulations. Consider them the minimum you should be doing to protect against various threats and scenarios.
- Put users in control. Give them the tools to decide what information to give you and what to keep to themselves.
- Be careful with third parties. If you share data with partners, vendors, or others, be sure your data access policies limit what they’re allowed to know about your customers.
- Use security best practices. Privacy depends on security and vice versa. Use the strongest possible security practices and tools to keep customer data safe.
If you’re not sure how to put this advice into action, contact Xantrion for advice and support.