The Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy are two documents that you have probably seen on most websites and in many web forms. The Terms of Service are important to define the rules for customers using the website and the Privacy Policy explains how the website owner cares and treats customers' private information.
but do itatPage needs a link to Terms of Service and Privacy Policy? How about a really short web form like a "Contact Us" form?JotForm provides templates for various "Contact"Forms, but you may need to add some links or checkboxes at the end of them to cover your legal bases. We will see.
A "Contact Us" form is a form that allows you to contact the website owner by entering your contact information, name and message. Contact forms often have text entry fields for:
- Name;
- General text field for comments or questions;
- Category selection drop-down menu for details on what type of message or request the customer has;
- email address for customer replies;
- Relevant account or customer numbers; Is
- Customer phone number.
With JotForm you can create amany different "Contact Us" forms with over 600 different forms to use as templates. Here is an example of a simple contact form:
Terms of Use and User Behavior
A terms of use document sets out the rules for customers using your website, including your web forms, such as B. your contact form. The Terms of Use willusually included:
- Description of user content, if your website allows users to create or share content;
- Copyright Infringement Terms;
- warranty information for any products you may have;
- rules for using the website;
- Acceptable and Unacceptable User Conduct;
- Limitation of Liability;
- Damage payment;
- arbitration or dispute resolution; Is
- Choice of Law or Governing Law.
Your web forms (including the "Contact Us" form) can be vulnerable to people trying to misuse them or hack into your customer data, so it's important to use good security techniques and create a Terms of Service document so that you can ban full use of any offending account. .
It is important to ensure that your Terms of Service apply toall webformularethat you have included on your website, not just the websites themselves.
TermsFeed can help you with thisGenerate a Terms of Use for your website here, and JotForm can help you create a "Contact Us" form that suits your needs.
privacy
A contact form also typically collects some personal information of the types listed above.
A customer's name, email address, phone number, or other contact information is personal information. If you collect personal data from customers, you must comply with the relevant data protection laws in your country. Let's take a look at some of the world's major jurisdictions and their data protection laws.
In the UK and Europe the Data Protection Directive (EU) and theData Protection Act 1998(UK) require a number ofData collection principles should be followedwhen it collects personal information from its users.
ThisData Collection Principlesthey are:
- customers must benotifiedwhen it collects your data;
- Personal data should only be collected forspecific purposes;
- The data collected mustsuitablemiimportantwith the purpose;
- Personal data must benecessary;
- Personal data muststay no longer than necessary;
- suitableSafety measuresit must be put into practice;
- Personal Informationmay not be transferred to a country or territory outside the European Economic Area, unless that country or territory also guarantees an adequate level of protection for such data.
The United States does not have a comprehensive federal privacy law that applies to online data collection. However, there is a California law (theCalifornia Online Privacy Protection Act von 2003) applicable to the data for Californians. The law requires the website operator to have a clear, easy-to-find link to their privacy policy, which must describe:
- The types of information collected by the website;
- How the information may be shared with other parties;
- The effective date of the policy and a description of any changes since then; Is
- The process by which the user can review and change their stored information.
If you have a business or website with international or US users, chances are some of your users are from California.
In Canada it's called the lawPersonal Data Protection and Electronic Documents Act 2000(PIPEDA). This law obliges the owner of the website:
- Obtain consent when collecting, using, or disclosing personal information;
- Providing a product or service to an individual, even if the individual refuses to consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of their personal information (unless such information is essential to the transaction);
- Only collect information in a fair and legal manner; Is
- Have a personal information policy that is clear, understandable, and readily available.
If you are based in, or have users from, any of the above countries, your "Contact Us" form may collect personal information which is subject to the above laws, so please be sure to comply.
The easiest way to comply with these laws is to set up a privacy policy on your website that covers the requirements above. A privacy policy is a legal statement that explains how user data is collected, used, managed, and shared.The privacy policy also explains how an individual's privacy and personal information is protected.
TermsFeed can help you with thisCreate your privacy policy here.
After writing your privacy policy and terms of service, you need to make sure your user agrees to them.
Heutwo main waysto obtain online under these guidelinesbrowser crashMethods uclick fitsmethods.
On your website you can: abrowser crashmethod and display links to your documents on the Contact Us page if it is a separate webpage. Browsewrap means that the user has to navigate through your website to find the terms. Here is a visual example from Hewlett-Packard of what the browser wrapper looks like:
This screenshot was taken at the bottom of the HP page. You can see that the user would have to scroll to the bottom of the page and then search through the various links until they find the right document.
Or you can use oneclick fitsand add a checkbox at the bottom of your form. Clickwrap means the user actually clicked “I agree” in the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Let's take a look at an example clickwrap from Art Bytes Academy:
The Art Bytes Academy form is an application form, but it is similar to the "Contact Us" form. You can see that the checkbox at the bottom of the form is a click-wrap method because it's a required field and the user must click "OK" to continue.
A clickwrap method is legally much stronger than a browsewrap method, but if you use a browsewrap method, make sure you display links to your legal documents frequently and clearly.
If you use a navigation method in connection with your web form, please ensure that the links to your privacy policy and terms of use are prominently displayed on your "Contact Us" page; Don't hide them under the fold.
JotForm makes it easy to add a click-wrap method checkbox at the bottom of your form, and they have one tooTerms and Conditions Widget too.These topics are covered in detail in one of our other articles,Here.
All web forms (no matter how short) must be covered by your privacy policy and website terms of use. Make sure you use a strong navigation method or click-fit method to ensure your customers accept both documents.
JotForm can help you implement click-wrapping methods with your basic checkbox and widget functionality and ensure your contact form is complete and legally compliant.