Privacy policy link: Crawl Audit check 128

Short answer: if your site collects any personal data, even an email address in a contact form or analytics, people have to be told what you do with it. A privacy policy linked from every page is the usual way. Check 128 fails when the page has no link to one. It's a high-impact check.

What Crawl Audit checks

• Pass: a link whose address contains "privacy".
• Fail: none.

It checks for the link, not what the policy says, or whether the link works.

What the rules say (UK)

• UK GDPR Article 13: when you collect personal data from someone, you must tell them, "at the time when personal data are obtained", a set of information starting with "the identity and the contact details of the controller".
• The ICO: "The information you provide to people must be concise, transparent, intelligible, easily accessible, and it must use clear and plain language."
• "You can meet this requirement by putting the information on your website, but you must make individuals aware of it and give them an easy way to access it."

What a privacy policy covers

• Who you are and how to contact you.
• What you collect, why, and on what legal basis.
• Who you share it with (email tools, analytics, payment providers).
• How long you keep it, and people's rights, including how to complain.

Link it from the footer of every page, and next to any form that collects personal data.

This is a summary, not legal advice. The ICO's guidance is being updated after the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, so check it for current wording.

Sources

• legislation.gov.uk, UK GDPR Article 13, checked 6 October 2026.
• ICO, Right to be informed.