Introduction
Fix a missing privacy policy finding. Add a discoverable privacy policy link to your site footer and consent banner to meet GDPR transparency requirements.
What it means
No privacy policy link was detected on the scanned page. GDPR Article 13 requires that data subjects receive information about how their personal data is processed — this information is typically provided through a privacy policy linked from the site footer.
Scanners check for recognizable privacy policy links in the page footer and consent banner. If none are found, the site fails transparency requirements independent of cookie behavior.
Why it matters
Regulators and compliance scanners treat this issue as a technical indicator that consent processes may not match stated policies. It is one of the most common findings in automated GDPR audits across all website categories.
Fixing this issue typically produces the largest single improvement in compliance scores, because it addresses the most heavily weighted scanning criteria.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the banner UI alone is sufficient — scanner findings are based on network and script behavior, not visual inspection.
- Testing only with an already-consented browser session, which hides the pre-consent behavior.
- Fixing the homepage but not campaign landing pages, subdomains, or localized variants.
Practical checklist
- Create or update your privacy policy covering controller identity, purposes, legal bases, data recipients, retention, and data subject rights.
- Add a clearly labeled 'Privacy Policy' link to your site footer, visible on every page.
- Link the privacy policy from your cookie consent banner footer.
- Verify the policy URL returns HTTP 200 and the page is indexable — not blocked by robots.txt or noindex.
- Run a compliance scan after fixes to confirm the issue is resolved.
- Document the fix date and rescan result for audit evidence.
How GDPRChecker helps
GDPRChecker flags missing privacy policy link as a medium-severity finding in scan reports. While less urgent than pre-consent tracking, this issue should be addressed to improve transparency and reduce compliance surface.
After implementing the fix, rescan your site with GDPRChecker to confirm the finding is cleared and your compliance score improves.