Category Archives: Privacy Policies

Upworthy’s (Graphic) Privacy Policy

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Jim Brock

I’m pretty impressed with how social-content distributor Upworthy explains their data practices in an approachable and entertaining way with this infographic. Privacy policies with short, iconic summaries can get the job done, but they are not (yet) engaging like this. With … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Folks, Privacy Policies | 2 Comments

Four takeaways from the FTC’s latest report on privacy in kids’ apps

Posted on December 10, 2012 by Jim Brock

Today the FTC released a new report that highlights the lack of progress made in improving disclosure of privacy practices in apps designed for children. If you develop apps for kids, you should read the entire report.  Here are four … Continue reading →

Posted in Folks, mobile, Privacy Policies, Pros | Leave a comment

Developer Alert: Time to choose between a free privacy policy or $2,500 fine

Posted on December 4, 2012 by Jim Brock

Ars Technica reports today that the California Attorney General is now actively enforcing state law requirements that your app must have a privacy policy if it transmits personal data about California residents. The fines are steep: up to $2,500 per … Continue reading →

Posted in Privacy Policies, Pros, Website Disclosure | Leave a comment

We need a Wikipedia for privacy data. This is a start.

Posted on November 26, 2012 by Jim Brock

At PrivacyChoice we curate quite a bit of data about the privacy ecosystem, including  detailed classifications of the privacy practices of more than 4,000 leading websites and data collectors. To support this dataset and keep it current, we’ve built systems … Continue reading →

Posted in Privacy Policies, Privacyfix | Leave a comment

Developer Alert: Airpush now collects and sells your users’ personal data

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Jim Brock

Note: Airpush’s CEO response in comments about actual consent practices and pending policy revision. On Monday, mobile ad network Airpush, which calls itself the “second largest mobile ad network,” revised their privacy statement in a major way. Now they state … Continue reading →

Posted in mobile, Outliers, Privacy Policies, Pros | 10 Comments

Personal data matching: New tracking method in Trackerlist

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Jim Brock

PrivacyChoice Trackerlist is a motherlode of information about data and privacy practices across the global marketing industry. We now index well over 1,000 tracking companies, programmatically monitoring and updating privacy policy summaries, choice processes, oversight practices and a host of … Continue reading →

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Developer Alert: California Attorney General sets up privacy enforcement unit

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Jim Brock

The top law enforcement official in the State of California has created a special enforcement unit focused on privacy, which emphasizes online and mobile data practices. If you develop or publish mobile apps, here’s what you need to know: 1. … Continue reading →

Posted in mobile, Oversight, Privacy Policies, Pros | Leave a comment

Developer Alert: New badge is available for kids’ apps

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Jim Brock

In collaboration with Moms With Apps, an energetic and growing group of family-focused app developers, we’re pleased to offer the Kids’ Badge for Apps, which gives parents an at-a-glance understanding of what goes on inside their apps. Here’s what a badge … Continue reading →

Posted in App Stores and Markets, mobile, Privacy Policies, Pros | Leave a comment

13 Takeaways from the Federal Trade Commission’s final privacy report

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Jim Brock

After two years of study, the Federal Trade Commission has issued their final report, Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change. Here are the takeaways that I found most significant (particularly #13!): Companies can establish a “safe harbor” … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Do Not Track, Legislation, mobile, Privacy Policies, privacyscore, Pros, Self-Regulation, Website Disclosure | 1 Comment

Developer Alert: App stores now must enforce privacy-policy requirements

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Jim Brock

As noted in prior posts, we have been hoping that mobile app store operators, like Apple and Google, will start to encourage developers to pay attention to app privacy policies, and in the course of doing so, get smarter about … Continue reading →

Posted in App Stores and Markets, Best Practices, Privacy Policies, Pros | Leave a comment