Privacy Policy Change Comparison Workbook

Policy updates rarely explain themselves

A privacy policy update notice almost never comes with a real changelog — just a new effective date and a link to a document that might run thousands of words. Reading both versions side by side, line by line, to figure out whether the actual data collected, who it's shared with, or how long it's kept has changed is exactly the kind of work most people don't have time to do, so the update gets accepted without anyone actually knowing what shifted.

This workbook structures that comparison across 13 concrete criteria — what data is collected, how long it's retained, which third parties are named, what rights are listed, and more — so you paste in the old and new wording once and can see exactly where they diverge.

• Side-by-Side Comparison across 13 criteria — data collected, retention, third parties, rights listed, and more
• Old-vs-new wording fields for each criterion
• Change-flag column to mark exactly what shifted between versions
• Notes column for your own assessment of whether a change matters

Step by step

1. Download the workbook and save both the old and new privacy policy versions before comparing.
2. Work through each of the 13 criteria, pasting in the relevant wording from both versions.
3. Mark the change-flag column wherever the wording meaningfully differs.
4. Use the notes column to record why a change matters to you.
5. Keep the completed comparison as your own record of what the update actually changed.

• Editable Excel workbook
• 13-criteria side-by-side comparison grid
• Change-flag and notes columns
• Works on any device

• Privacy Audit Checklist