With all the news about Facebook not protecting the privacy of member data, data privacy certainly has been a hot topic lately. You might have noticed that a LOT of other companies are now taking heed and self-imposing new privacy rules and protections for customer / member data. Companies such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and other major social media players have all released similar notifications. Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that WordPress is now introducing privacy features in the latest release (v4.9.6).
Why Does Privacy Matter?
Let’s face it, the Internet is like a cornucopia for people with malicious intent. From hacking into systems to steal money, data, or you name it, there has always been a need for. But, security isn’t necessarily the same thing as privacy. In the example from Facebook, they collect incredible amounts of data about you, whether you know it or not. And that’s part of the problem. So, privacy matters in two big ways:
- Data Transparency – Privacy statements should be easily discoverable. Privacy settings should be easy to understand.
- Data Protection – Companies need to take steps to secure privacy data.
What’s In the WordPress Privacy Release?
With the latest release from WordPress, they have introduced a new privacy setting and privacy page template. You have the choice of pointing to your own page or using their template page, which already filled out with much of the privacy language you would need. You just need to customize it to your specific company name and data handling procedures. A link to the page is automatically displayed on the login and registration pages, when enabled in the WordPress admin.
There are also data notifications that go out to systems users if their data is exported or erased, giving that person more control over their personal data.
