How Do You "Do" Privacy?

Often one of the first questions that comes up with launching a new web site or remodeling an existing one is that of privacy.

What information should be protected on the web? What about images, particularly pictures of children? What about names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, the church directory, newsletters?

There are a hundred different things to think about, and that can sometimes be overwhelming. Congregations want their websites to be sources of information for visitors, but also a resource for current members. So, information should be available, but not too available. Where's the line?

One way to deal with the issue is to write a Privacy Policy that governs the way your congregation uses personal information and photographs in general, and on your website. Have an intentional conversation with a group of members and friends who represent the various demographics and interests of your congregation, such as parents, those without children, committee chairs, board members, new members, longtime members, youth and young adults.

I was part of such a process to write a policy for my home congregation, the Unitarian Church of Los Alamos. This is what we came up with: http://www.uulosalamos.org/privacy.php

We modeled this policy after those of other similar websites, but also expanded the scope beyond just our website to include other promotional uses, and our practice of supplying the UUA with contact information of our members for the purposes of UUWorld subscriptions. We also made sure to create an opt-out process for the use of any personal information.

Once our policy was written, the Communications Committee presented it to the congregation's Council for approval, where it passed handily. Now we have a document that we can look to when we have questions about what we should or should not share on our website, in our newsletter, or in our promotional publications. Having this conversation allowed us to make thoughtful decisions on these issues, rather than trying to go on "gut feelings" of various individuals involved in the use of this information through committee work or other church functions.

What kinds of issues does your congregation consider when looking at the information you share publicly? Do you have a policy in place? How would you go about starting that conversation?

Please share your experiences with me by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and I'll highlight some of our best practices across the district for your reference.

Posted Tuesday, 14 September 2010 16:18 Written by Jess Cullinan