With growing digital penetration, data has unleashed human capacity to perform much more with increased efficiency. However, growing data increases the potential of misuse, frequently demonstrated through leaks and the unauthorised sale of personal data.

Most of us are aware of the privacy controversies of companies like Snapchat and Facebook. But even the groups you least expect fail to protect your privacy. Honestly, they aren't shy about it either.

Today, we are tech savvy and more concerned about our privacy than ever. But when was the last time you diligently went through a lengthy, jargon-filled privacy policy before authorising companies to share your data? We can all admit that we have been pretty lax about it. However, most of these privacy policies and informed consent are problematic.

Let's discuss common issues rampant in privacy policies that companies should learn to avoid.
●    Comprehension Problem: Most privacy policies are filled with legal and technical jargon with words like 'Caveat emptor' that laymen can hardly comprehend. The low digital literacy in countries like Nepal makes the matter worse. While the goal of the Privacy Policy is transparency, it is doing the exact opposite.
If we used a rather simple language, we could easily achieve transparency, providing the users with a baseline of information before diving into the whole picture.
●    Hidden Privacy Policy: Most websites tend to hide their privacy policy; they don't link it on your home page. General practice has been to connect the privacy policy and terms and conditions on the website's footer section. However, as The Guardian has done here, it is better to link it as soon as the user visits the site for the first time.
So, if your users have to search for the Privacy Policy, it isn't good as it is hidden.
●    No updates: Companies hardly ever update their privacy policy. It is important to keep updating your policies and, even more, to mention them on the website for customer reassurance.
●    You don't ask for consent: The purpose of the privacy policy is to make your customers read it and give permission. You need your customers to provide you with a 'yes.' If you have a strong privacy policy, you must secure strong user consent; otherwise, it won't be very helpful if you ever face legal challenges.
●    Missing Clauses: Your privacy policy should strategically represent the way you collect, use, and store data. Often, legislative clauses are found missing, but there might be other clauses missing which might result in your privacy policy becoming incomplete. Before you regard your Privacy Policy as complete, review it properly to ensure nothing is overlooked.
●    Enormous Block of Text: As mentioned earlier, readability is crucial in the Privacy Policy of any business. Big words, tiny prints, and massive blocks of texts are not the way forward. Illustrative pictures and white spaces in between increase the readability.  
●    Your team members must know: Everyone who controls, accesses or works with your data must understand your privacy policy. They should know how your policies match your operations and what your customers expect from you. Otherwise, their lack of knowledge might impact whether you uphold each clause as you should.
●    Fear of Litigation: It is sad, but some companies write their Privacy Policies to reflect their fear of lawsuits rather than addressing areas that concern users.
●    Same Policy for Different Users: Your business likely has several types of users like customers, developers and partners. Your Privacy Policy must reflect this. A single privacy policy for all categories of users makes your document complicated. So, it is better to separate the classes and provide different ones to each of them.

If we were to take a step back and give the issue another look, we might be able to identify some viable solutions. Many fundamental problems with data privacy are also behavioural; although users may intend to secure their data, this doesn't always happen. Therefore, we may be able to unleash human-centric design as a potential solution to better data privacy by influencing human behaviour through better design principles. We can promote improved decision-making by putting people, not the service contract, at the centre of this connection.

For example, UX/UI designers should be included when creating privacy regulations from the beginning of the design process. To demonstrate to consumers how their data will be gathered and utilised, businesses should use their inputs to depict privacy policies visually. Studies have shown that using brief movies or animations to graph data flows can help consumers understand what happens to their data when they assent, reducing ambiguity and enhancing transparency while lowering consent fatigue.

Today's privacy laws remain convoluted and inaccessible to many. We must encourage individuals to put more effort into comprehending and consenting to collecting and using their data. It is important to effectively defend privacy and autonomy in the digital sphere to achieve long-term mutual benefit for all parties.

Ultimately, your privacy policy serves your customers as well as your business. Therefore, ensuring that your policy is readable, transparent, accessible and complete is vital. It must reflect both your data practices and your customer's privacy expectations. Visual presentation of consent and privacy policies is the way forward.