: What benefit do you get from posting terms of service, privacy policy, etc.? Just wondering why you'd post terms of service, privacy policy, etc. on a website.

@YK1175434

In addition to these all good answers, I would say Privacy Policy, Terms of Use etc. make your business more serious and your future clients more confident. Many customers don't trust businesses without legal information.

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@Jennifer507

ToS (Terms of Service, Terms of Used), Privacy Policy of web sites and on-line services are nothing more than unilateral declarations, i.e. help that does not have any juridical force.

To be legally enforceable, they should have been formalized as 2-sided contracts.

Even in this case, of contract formalization between sides, any contract is made null by omnipresent in ToSes illegal claims infringing any laws like reservations (and common use of) of the right of unilateral retroactive (and without any notice!) of an agreement.

Read, for example:


Court Rejects Online Terms Of Service That Reserve The Right To
Change At Any Time

with comments to it

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@Turnbaugh106

In some cases, like for example Affiliate Marketing, it is required by law in the USA to disclose such information on your website.

As this article on the Washington Post explains.

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@Pierce454

Depending on the country/state you're sire is available in or services you are providing these may be required by law there. California requires a specific privacy policy term that most websites break off as it's own additional policy for CA residents. If you're gathering any data on your users without informing them you are there is the potential for them to take legal action against you if it's used in a way they don't agree with and feel they were misinformed you were collecting it.

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@Kevin317

If you are applying for a merchant account this is a common requirement of the merchant account provider as this helps them to understand your business model and determine the risk they will be exposed to (e.g. chargebacks). Basically, the more customer friendly they are the less risk they are exposed to.

Privacy policies are good to have as some users, can't quantify how many unfortunately, will at the very least check to see if you have one and some do actually read it. If they don't know what your policies are they may not use your site at all. Additionally, if your website becomes popular ad famous you may catch some flak for not stating your policy at all.

Terms of service are a legal aid to you in case someone abuses your website in some way. It may give you legal recourse should it be necessary but that will vary by country (and state in the US) so you should always consult a lawyer to make sure yours is enforceable.

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