By building privacy into your products from the beginning and giving your users the information and tools to protect and control their own personal information, you not only help avoid consequences ranging from scathing media coverage to class action lawsuits, you also make users feel truly invested in your product and build invaluable trust and loyalty.

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The key to developing outstanding privacy practices is to proactively identify and address potential privacy risks before they happen.
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MAKE YOUR PRIVACY PRACTICES STAND OUT

AOL Embarrassed by Release of Re-Identifiable Data

In 2006, AOL and its Chief Technical Officer learned the hard way that “anonymizing” data requires more than simply removing user IDs. The company thought that it had properly anonymized the search records of 500,000 of its users when it posted that...Read more >

Security Firm RSA Faces Backlash for NSA “Backdoor”

Prominent security firm RSA faced a massive backlash after reports that it has been paid by the NSA to adopt compromised encryption tools . The story stoked rumors that the spy agency had “backdoor” access to the encrypted communications of the...Read more >

Ashley Madison's "Full Delete" Fantasy Angers Users

The racy online service Ashley Madison received strong public criticism and was dragged into court after a breach revealed the service retained information about users who had paid the company an additional fee to delete their accounts. Even though...Read more >

Shady Flashlight App Keeps Millions of Users in the Dark

Goldenshores Technologies, makers of the “Brightest Flashlight Free” Android app, faced legal action from the FTC for deceiving users about its data sharing practices . The app failed to disclose in its privacy policy that it was transmitting...Read more >

RadioShack Hammered for Unauthorized Sale of Customer Data

RadioShack was widely condemned when it announced plans to sell tens of millions of customers’ data in bankruptcy proceedings even though it had promised not to sell or share any of that information in its privacy policy. The sale was put on hold...Read more >

Snapchat Investigated for False Claim that Photos “Disappear Forever”

Snapchat was punished by the FTC for misrepresenting its security and privacy practices , including its fundamental promise that photos and videos “ disappear forever ” after being viewed. The FTC also accused Snapchat of collecting user geolocation...Read more >

Lenovo Shamed for PCs Secretly Preinstalled with “Nefarious” Adware

Lenovo was lambasted in the press after security researchers revealed that the PC-maker was selling computers secretly preinstalled with “ nefarious ” adware that not only collected information about users’ online activity but also made encrypted...Read more >

Lookout Gets Shout-Out for Short-Form Mobile Privacy Policy Tool

Lookout, a mobile privacy and security startup, attracted lots of positive attention for building a tool to help mobile apps produce short-form privacy policies. The company decided to build and release the tool after receiving positive feedback for...Read more >

Spotify’s Problem “Isn’t Privacy, It’s Terrible Communications”

Spotify was widely criticized for the difficult-to-decipher language in an update to its privacy policy released in mid-2015. Many users were confused by the policy and believed that Spotify wanted to track users “like a jealous ex.” Spotify’s CEO...Read more >

CyberLock's Overreaction to Security Issue Draws Criticism

Electronic lock maker CyberLock drew harsh criticism for its “ abuse of the legal system ” when it sent threatening legal letters to a researcher to prevent him from publicly revealing his research about its products. The researcher uncovered...Read more >