For modern businesses, the benefits of online privacy policies and trends cannot be overlooked. As a business owner who handles customer and employee data, you need to stay familiar with invaluable privacy policy trends for one very important reason. They play a critical role in helping you to safeguard various types of data.
Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) may face a few challenges when trying to remain compliant with privacy regulations. They may find it difficult to keep up to speed when such regulations evolve. However, staying compliant is still obligatory for your company.
So, in this article, the experts at our IT services company in Edmonton and Western Canada will explore which key privacy policy trends are critical in 2025. We will also look ahead and share how privacy policy trends are likely to evolve.
Why Privacy Policies Matter for SMBs
Over time, consumer trust, regulations, and data handling compliance norms have evolved significantly. There is now a growing emphasis worldwide on protecting personal and employee data, including contact information, email addresses, and more. Such trends not only apply to larger companies but also to SMBs.
Shifts in regulations and consumer trust reflect the ethical reasons your business needs a comprehensive privacy policy. They are needed so that companies can respect individual privacy rights, empower users, and give them the peace of mind that their data is safeguarded from unauthorized access.
At the same time, legal factors are also fundamental in the context of data protection. Discover more about this below.
Privacy Policy Trends for 2025 and Beyond
A few anticipated privacy policy regulation changes could potentially take place in 2025 and beyond. General data protection regulations (GDPR) have already established means to handle implied consent before companies use consumer and employee data.
Canadian laws such as the Consumer Privacy Protection Act (CPPA) may potentially adopt even stricter measures to handle the grey area of implied consent when obtaining consumer data. The aim is to give consumers even more control over their data.
With such potential developments, it’s critical that your business stays abreast of international and national privacy laws, particularly if you operate online. However, your company also needs to be aware of several other factors that affect data collection and usage. Our managed IT services company has outlined a few factors you should be aware of below.
AI and Privacy
One factor to consider is that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can affect how data is collected and used. In AI data collection, automated data gathering can take place through a web scraping method, which can potentially lead to the collection of significant amounts of data without explicit consent.
For this reason, there is a growing requirement for transparency in how AI-driven data collection works.
Third-Party Data Sharing
Elsewhere, in the world of data sharing, there are increasing concerns related to third-party vendors and their use of consumer data. According to Business Wire, in 2024 and into 2025 6% of Canadian consumers worry that their information is used by a third party to target ads. This issue, as well as issues such as data misuse, has led 61% of Canadians to believe that plain and clear information about data sharing is required.
As an SMB, there are ways to handle these challenges. It’s worth considering shared responsibility models, which are cloud security and risk frameworks that set out specific cybersecurity processes. These processes include the ones that cloud service providers take, such as infrastructure security, and the ones that your business will take.
It’s possible to adopt and reinforce shared responsibility models by defining the specific data protection duties for your company and the service providers. It’s also important to encrypt sensitive data and apply the right security measures or access controls based on the classification of the data.
Employee and Internal Privacy Protocols
Beyond third-party data sharing, other trends are crucial in the context of privacy policies and data. Consumer or client data is not the only type of data you will need to safeguard; there’s also an increasing need to protect employee data.
According to the Canadian Government website, 70% of the surveyed employees said some aspect of their work is monitored, and 93% of Canadians were worried about how their data was used in 2023 and into 2024, a trend that could potentially continue in 2025.
Ensuring your employees’ information remains safeguarded is therefore crucial, and it’s possible to achieve this by adjusting internal privacy protocols. For instance, you may establish protocols for obtaining meaningful consent from your staff, communicating how the data is being used, and ensuring your privacy policies are accessible to all employees.
Consumer-Centric Privacy Practices
Other trends, such as an emphasis on user empowerment in the context of data, need to be acknowledged during business operations. It can include factors such as consent management when your business collects personal data.
But you can also adhere to these user empowerment expectations by implementing customizable privacy options, which are settings your clients can adjust according to their requirements.
Consent management and customizable privacy options include steps such as displaying customizable consent banners, which help your business manage user permissions. It can also include demonstrating ethical data handling and providing clear options for customers to manage their data by implementing consent management platforms. These steps can help you build trust with consumers.
Privacy Tech Adoption for SMBs
One growing trend in data security is the adoption of privacy tech by SMBs. We have mentioned consent management platforms, but other technologies, such as privacy impact assessment software and vendor risk management platforms, can help you adhere to data privacy laws and regulations.
While privacy impact assessment software conducts and manages privacy risk assessments when companies need to complete data processing, vendor risk management platforms aid businesses in monitoring the privacy practices of their third-party vendors.
Additionally, the use of data subject access management tools is on the rise. Such tools can automate the data subject request handling process, allowing you to delete or rectify the data instantly.
Actionable Tips for SMBs to Handle Evolving Privacy Policy Trends
Even though handling evolving privacy policy trends can be difficult, your business can handle this by frequently updating privacy policies, investing in privacy training, relying on advanced technology, and consulting specific experts who understand privacy policy norms and how they can affect your business.
Make sure you update your privacy policies when you make changes to your business operations or at least once a year. Alongside this, educate your employees on privacy regulations and include modules such as the risks of privacy violations and ways to ensure that privacy is safeguarded.
For some expert privacy-related advice, the specific experts you should consult include legal professionals and privacy consultants. With their knowledge, you can effortlessly navigate the complex regulations as they evolve and meet the demands of your clients and employees in terms of their data.
Adhere to Privacy Regulations with the Support of Tech Masters
Privacy regulations are constantly evolving and it’s critical to have a proactive approach that helps with privacy policy management. Your SMB needs to adhere to the trends described in this article to stick to its legal privacy obligations and stay competitive.
We strongly advise reviewing your privacy policy frequently to ensure it reflects current regulations. Once you have looked at your privacy policy, you may need expert advice and support to ensure you are adhering to recent norms.
Tech Masters can assist you here. With anti data breach methods and technology stack expertise, we can help your business. Schedule a free consultation with Tech Masters to get started. Contact us today for the best support with privacy compliance.
