Privacy statements are usually hidden and are changed frequently

Almost all sites insist on making their registration process quick and simple. Therefore, they prefer to keep users from spending time on privacy statements. Here at Ascentum, we try to find a balance – between simplicity and ensuring that engagement website users take the time to read through and understand the fine print. Exposing users to our privacy statements is one of the key steps during registration.

What most sites also mention in their privacy statement is that they reserve the right to change their privacy statement without prior notice. And with all social media sites releasing new features almost every other day to keep up with the competition, it becomes a necessity to revisit privacy and settings as frequently as possible to keep your information safe.

It is among Ascentum’s best practices to not modify privacy statements after a website has been launch. In rare cases where we do need to make any changes to our privacy statement, we either follow it up with a clear and visible message on our home page and/or send out an email to our participants notifying them of the recent change.

Most mainstream users typically ignore privacy settings

In his book Simple and Usable, Giles Colborne outlined 3 main types of internet users. Experts, who are willing to spend time on a new product and its features and love to customize their products; Willing Adopters, who are tempted to use something sophisticated but uncomfortable with something entirely new; and finally Mainstreamers, who just use a product to get their job done.

Since there aren’t too many people who fall in to the first two groups, most sites are designed with Mainstreamers in mind. What that means is that site registration fields have been simplified and reduced to bare minimum. And newly registered accounts start off with preset privacy settings. Proper use of privacy settings is dependent on user skill set.

Ascentum approaches its website designs with all three users in mind and ensures no one is left in the dark based on their online skill sets. Along with our registration process presenting privacy statements clearly, our submission form feature further allows users to choose whether they would like to make their entries public or keep them private and only for analysis.

Privacy policies of a site are compelled by law of the country the site is hosted in

Back in 2009, Facebook had to readdress their privacy settings after they were found to be in conflict with the Canadian Privacy Law. Similarly, LinkedIn privacy policies are bound by California Government Law which may not necessarily agree with information privacy laws in other countries.

Ascentum counters these privacy conflicts by hosting all web sites locally. Our servers reside in Canada and come equipped with SSL encryption by default to ensure maximum data privacy.

So why share your information at all?

Answer: Return on Investment (ROI), i.e. visibility, contacts, connections, better product deals, etc..

• In the case of Facebook, your ROI could be connection with friends, coworkers or family.
• In the case of LinkedIn, your ROI could be professional contacts, following your favourite brands and companies, career advancement.
• By participating online for Ascentum, your ROI could be ability to enable change and make a difference in the field you care about most. Whether it is a change in the workplace, schools, healthcare or your own community.

Conclusion

Here at Ascentum, we ensure that our process of dealing with user-related information abides with Canadian legislation. However, when it comes to popular social media, the best practice in order to ensure your information privacy is to use common sense. At the end of the day, users control what they share on the web regardless of privacy policies set by social media platforms.

-Salman Shakeel-

Facebook has just released a brand new privacy policy that responds to the Privacy Commissioner of Canada’s concerns about protecting personal information. And that’s great news for all of us.

The fact that Facebook responded so quickly and publicly to the Commissioner shows that Facebook takes privacy seriously.

An easy-to-understand privacy statement… for real!?
To put it simply, the new Facebook privacy policy is brilliant. It’s written in plain English (no sneaky fineprint or lawyer words) so that anyone can read and understand it. And, Facebook actually invited comments on a draft of the new policy from members of its user community and received 1000s, so people have had a voice in helping shape it.

3rd party apps and your privacy
Part of Facebook’s success has been that other companies have developed mini-applications, like games or quizzes, to provide users with a more fun and engaging experience. Some of these 3rd party apps gather personal information; for example to post a status update to a user’s friends about a new high-score they’ve got.

The new privacy policy clarifies that Facebook requires all developers of these apps to respect people’s privacy settings and places strict limits on how user information is collected, stored and used.

We all need to play a more active role in protecting our privacy
Ultimately, Facebook’s new policy reminds us that we each need to play a more active role in protecting our own personal information. Facebook can’t stop your friends from sharing any embarrassing Halloween party pictures elsewhere online if they choose to!

It’s up to each of us to choose the privacy settings we are comfortable with. To get started, select the “privacy” option under settings in your Facebook account! You can decide who can have access to what information.

- Ellis Westwood -