Privacy finding
The privacy policy is missing, hard to reach, in another language or lists other cookies than the scan found
Privacy Warning Severity: Medium
Part of the audit Privacy and cookie policy. Finding id: privacy.policyPages.
What it costs you
The policy is where you tell visitors what you collect. If they cannot find it, cannot read it, or it lists other cookies than the site sets, what you tell them is not what you do.
What to do
Link the policy from every page, offer it in each language of the site and make its cookie list match the scan.
What it checks
- No privacy or cookie policy
- Policy not linked from every page
- Policy cookie list differs from scan
- Policy language differs from page
How to fix it
Add the cookie to the list or remove its script
- Find what sets the cookie on the example page.
- Add it to the list with its purpose, provider and lifetime, or remove the script that sets it.
How to check: Run this rule again after the next crawl.
Take unused cookies off the list
- Check whether the cookie is still set anywhere, for example in checkout or after login.
- If not, take it off the list.
How to check: Run this rule again after the next crawl.
Publish the policy in the language of the pages
- Publish a translation of the policy.
- Link it from the pages in that language and set its lang attribute.
How to check: Run this rule again after the next crawl.
Link the policy from the footer template
- Put the link to the policy in the footer template, so every page carries it.
- Check templates that have their own footer: landing pages, checkout, error pages.
How to check: Run this rule again after the next crawl.
A real case
The Dutch data protection authority fined TikTok 750,000 euros because it offered its privacy statement to Dutch users, many of them children, only in English.
Thresholds
| Name | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
min_linked_share | 0.95 | Share of pages (0 to 1) that must link to the policy. |
min_pages_in_language | 5 | A language without a policy is reported when at least this many pages are written in it. |