Tips on Writing a Privacy Policy for Your FBA Business

Building a successful business as an Amazon FBA seller is not a simple undertaking. You might even be at the point where you’ve grown so much that you're looking to sell your Amazon FBA business. On any given day, there could be a dozen different tasks demanding your attention. So, the chances are slim that you’ve had the time to write a privacy policy, or even knew that you needed one in the first place. 

Having data privacy policies is an important way to promote transparency with your customers. And in some cases, it may be legally required. For instance, if you sell your products or services to EU citizens, you’ll need one to comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).

If that’s news to you, don’t worry. Today we’ll show you how to write a privacy policy, to be GDPR compliant. 

What is an FBA Privacy Policy? 

A privacy policy is a legal document that discloses to Amazon shoppers how their personal information, such as name, address, and contact information, such as an email address is gathered, used, disclosed, managed, and secured. 

This statement acts as both legal indemnity and a means for reassuring consumers of how their information collection happens and how their data is being used. If you do business with EU citizens, you must have privacy policies to be in GDPR compliance.

While each privacy statement is unique to the specific business, ideally, it will lend transparency to your company’s actions and provide consumers with both the essential information as well as an avenue for opting-in or opting-out of sharing personally identifiable information.

How To Write a Privacy Policy?

So, what steps must you take to build out a comprehensive privacy policy? 

Step 1: Follow the Terms 

If you wish to comply with the GDPR, simply having a privacy policy isn’t enough. How it is written also matters. The EU requires that the document have the following characteristics:

• Be concise, transparent, intelligible, and easily accessible
• Made available for free
• Delivered promptly
• Written in understandable language  

Step 2: List All of the Personal Information 

The first section of your privacy statement should clearly identify and list all of the personal data that you plan to collect from consumers or site visitors. The more detailed, the better. 

Don’t know where to begin?

Conducting an internal audit could help you fully understand what’s being gathered and how, when, and from whom. Once that sensitive information is on hand, it should be clearly stated within the privacy policy.  

Step 3: Explain the Usage 

Customers need to know, how is data collected and what do you plan to do with the user data? You must also demonstrate that you are doing so in accordance with the law. The GDPR requirements allow for six legal reasons for data collection, including:

1. Vital interests
2. Public interests
3. Contractual necessity
4. Compliance with any legal obligation
5. Unambiguous consent
6. Legitimate interests

Proper disclosure won’t simply tell customers how data is being used but tell them why data collection acts to their benefit. Detailing the planned uses also creates transparency that can incite customer trust in your brand. Amazon seller messages are also a great way to communicate with your customers but there are certain regulations that need to be followed for these procedures as well.

Step 4: Detail Storage and Protection   

Consumers should also be fully aware of how their sensitive information is stored and for how long. From there, they require assurances that their user data is secured from all potential cyber threats or abuses. 

Ideally, this will detail the internal security procedures and processes—both physical and digital—used to protect that information collection from accidental loss, destruction or damage, or unlawful usage.  

Step 5: Third-Party Tracking and Disclosure

From site analytics to content optimization, practically every company leverages third-party data for a host of essential business uses. And although the world is slowly transitioning toward a cookieless cyberspace, we’re not there yet. 

Therefore, if your business website or mobile app relies on third-party data gathering methods or shares gathered personally identifiable information with third parties, consumers need to be made aware. 

Step 6: Opt-Ins 

While most states in the U.S. only have opt-out options, Europe requires that consumers voluntarily opt-in for their data to be collected. In fact, the GDPR’s best practices suggest that, for user consent, brands should have consumers confirm their opt-in status not once but twice. 

Step 7: Notification of Rights

The GDPR also stipulates that a privacy policy must include a section that covers the rights of EU users. These rights include:

• The right to be informed
• The right of access
• The right to rectification (correction)
• The right to erasure
• The right to restrict processing
• The right to data portability
• The right to object
• The right to not be subject to automated decision making

Write a Privacy Policy

GDPR compliance starts with your privacy policy. It acts as the foundation that your entire data compliance and security policy will be built upon. If it’s done haphazardly, all other efforts will be in vain—and that could lead to significant damages to your bank account and business reputation.  

But what if you’ve spent years building up your business and are now looking for an exit ramp? That’s where we step in. Forum Brands is actively looking to acquire category leaders on Amazon. Sell your Amazon FBA business to us in under 30 days. How’s that work? Let’s chat.   

Sources: 

GDPR. Writing a GDPR-compliant Privacy Notice.https://gdpr.eu/privacy-notice/

 Privacy Policies. The GDPR, Collecting Personal Data, and Updating Your Privacy Policy. https://www.privacypolicies.com/blog/gdpr-collecting-personal-data-updating-privacy-policy/

ICO. Individual rights. https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/