Any website that that collects data about you should have a privacy policy. And almost every website you visit collects some form of data. Although very few people actually read them, 968 of the top 1000 websites have posted privacy policies. Mashable recently wrote an article on privacy policies, and shared some interesting statistics. Among their more interesting facts:
- The average privacy policy has 2462 words
- The longest privacy policy has 11,000 words and takes the average person 45 minutes
- 720 offer an opt-out option
- 124 explicitly say they share your information with third parties
You may not start reading privacy policies, and most of the time you won’t see any negative effects of not reading them, but it’s always a good idea to know what you’re agreeing to.