Date of the privacy policy

What we check

We open the privacy policy that the home page links to and look for a date near terms such as "as of", "version", "last updated", "valid from" or "in force", also in German and French.

• No date found: note.
• Date before 1 September 2023: warning, because the policy dates from before the revised Data Protection Act.
• Date from 1 September 2023: fine.

If no privacy policy is linked, this check does not apply. The check "Privacy policy and imprint" then reports that. This is an automatic preliminary check, not legal advice.

Why it matters

On 1 September 2023 the revised Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA) came into force. It considerably extended the duties to inform. Since then a privacy policy must name, among other things:

• the identity and contact details of the controller,
• the purpose of the processing,
• the recipients or categories of recipients, such as hosting, analytics or newsletter services,
• the countries to which data is disclosed, and the safeguards for this.

Many policies date from the time GDPR was introduced in 2018 or earlier. They name services that are long since no longer used and leave out new ones.

A visible date shows visitors and authorities that the policy is maintained. Without a date it is impossible to tell whether it fits current law and the current website.

How to fix it

1. Take stock: which services does the website use today? The report on third parties helps with this.
2. Revise: compare the policy with the revised DPA. Generators from Swiss providers have been geared to it since 2023. If in doubt, a professional helps.
3. Note the date: at the beginning or end of the policy, e.g. "As of: October 2026". Use an unambiguous format with month and year.
4. Review regularly: set yourself a yearly reminder.

Typical gaps in older policies

• No indication of the countries to which data goes, such as the USA for Google services.
• No mention of the hosting provider and server location.
• Embedded services such as Google Maps, YouTube or Google Fonts are missing.
• References to the GDPR only, not to Swiss law.

How to check it yourself

Open the privacy policy and use Ctrl+F to search for "as of" or "2023". If there is a date before September 2023 or none at all, a revision is due.