TRUSTe's 2011 Website Privacy Index

From the press release:

In the 2011 Website Edition of its Privacy Index, TRUSTe analyzed the privacy policies of the top 100 U.S. websites (as ranked by Alexa Sept. 2011) to evaluate privacy practices by measuring key policy attributes, as well as the type of disclosures contained in them. TRUSTe found that while nearly 100 percent of websites today include a privacy policy, existing policies are highly complex, lengthy and written in language that is confusing for the average person to understand. Additionally, the vast majority of privacy policies are not readily transparent regarding third-party usage of data or consumer choices.

...

The privacy index findings include current online trends, such as:

• 72 percent of the websites analyzed say that they allow third-party tracking on their sites;
• 36 percent say that they collect users' location data; and
• 31 percent say that they share user-provided data with third parties.

However, in regards to consumer disclosures, many websites still fall short:

• 93 percent of the websites do not disclose how long they keep customer data on file; and
• 68 percent do not explain how a user can delete an account.

View the TRUSTe 2011 Privacy Index: Website Edition.

Hat tip to beSpacific. [JH]