Companies’ privacy and user data have been a critical issue worldwide these past few years. There have been breaches in so many top companies by hackers trying to get vital information dropped by users. It has been a significant issue, and most users feel their data isn’t safe with companies. Which also leads to the question, What is data privacy?
Data privacy keeps the company’s obligations and promises on how it uses data. It covers more than personal information; it also covers license data subject to contracts. Data privacy ensures that sensitive data is only accessible to approved parties. It prevents criminals from hacking or using data without consent and helps companies meet regulatory requirements.
Data privacy issues can arise from certain types of data accessed and analyzed from significant sources, including health records, financial transactions, geographic information, location-based services, web surfing, and user preferences using persistent cookies.
We’ll be looking at four ways companies can provide better data privacy:
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Practice minimal collection
The lesser the information and data companies collect from users, the lesser the risk. Companies should ensure their policies dictate that they contain only data needed at a particular time. Minimizing data collection also helps save bandwidth and storage. Companies should also know which data they require from customers to mitigate risk.
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Include your users
Transparency should be a virtue among companies. Most users will feel safe by giving out their data when those companies are transparent about utilizing their data. Every user is aware of privacy concerns, and they want to be sure the information they give out is safe. Companies should try as much as possible to give individuals the right to consent about the uses of their data collected online.
Make sure you include users and their consent on your design privacy process on your interface. You should also have different options like when and how to modify or opt-out of data collection.
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Inventory
One of the ways to ensure data privacy is by understanding what data you have, how it’s handled and stored. Your policies should define how information is being collected and used. Furthermore, it should indicate what protection users need for their various data privacy levels.
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Infrastructure
If need be to collect essential data from users, companies should create an infrastructure environment that can readily accommodate the increasing volumes of data they collect. Companies should also build privacy by design into their applications which can include automatic-timed logout and requirements for a strong password from time to time.
Research has shown that most consumers don’t trust companies to handle their data and protect their privacy, which has reduced the number of vital information users give out. Companies can differentiate themselves by taking the steps mentioned above to ensure better data privacy.
