Data privacy is a loaded subject no matter how you slice it. From headline-grabbing data breaches one-upping each other on a nearly monthly basis, to concerns about monolithic social media companies misusing private consent, the topic is unavoidable.
Adding to the maelstrom is a slew of recent regulations on a national and global scale that are putting the heat on companies of all sizes to firm up their data collection processes. It’s not just the Facebook’s and Equifax’s of the world that are feeling the heat, as almost any company that collects information about their users — which, truthfully, is almost every company — will face compliance hurdles in the coming years.
Take the European Union’s much-hyped General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect last spring and is regularly touted as the first global mandate on data collection. Despite being designed by leaders of the EU’s 28 member states, even companies that don’t have a physical presence on the continent will face hefty fines if they misuse or aren’t careful with even basic consumer data.
While the burden to date has fallen primarily on larger companies to shore up their strategies for data control and collection, hefty noncompliance fines will be landing on smaller companies too in the weeks, months and years to come. That’s because in the digital age — and especially where mobile apps are concerned — the world is getting smaller, and potential customers can be reached across borders. As a result, companies that aren’t putting a greater focus on their data collection practices — an all-too-common characteristic of companies that haven’t kept pace with the policy landscape — could unwittingly be on the hook for up to 20 million Euro in fines or 4 percent of their annual revenue, depending on which will hurt the business more.
Recent data shows that US companies — up to 90 percent as of this summer — are especially vulnerable, and need to immediately start taking regulations seriously.
GDPR compliance is only the beginning.
Stateside, California continues to lead the way in establishing best practices for digital and data-centric businesses, having passed more stringent regulations about data collection than the Federal government to date.
But even with rules that vary across jurisdictions, it only makes sense for brands to shore up their best practices today rather than wait around to be forced into compliance tomorrow.
That being said, mobile brands don’t need to go it alone.
In fact, mobile companies that partner with data and analytics teams like ours at Localytics can rely on us to act as their “data shephard.”
We’ve worked hard to build tools and capabilities into our platform that ensure our customers can use our products and remain compliant with any privacy requirements. We openly communicate what data is in scope, how it’s processed and used, while continually updating our privacy policy to allow customers and their end-users visibility into how we approach privacy, and how we safeguard their data.
In a nutshell, as a brand’s Data Shephard, we can help companies ensure that appropriate and effective permissions are in place that assure compliance without bugging or alienating users. We can support processing the requests for users to exercise their “right to be forgotten,” while given brands the tools they need to garner permissions in the first place.
In our latest eBook, “Data Privacy: The Obstacles and Opportunities for Mobile Marketers,” we run down the biggest hurdles for mobile businesses and their marketing teams in the GDPR era and beyond, and how brands can leverage our expertise to assure compliance without compromising the personalization that users demand in their mobile experiences.
Read more or reach out to schedule a conversation with our team today.
