Getting started with the Label Maker tool

We've created a simple, privacy friendly tool that allows you to create your own privacy labels. We hope that in the future there will be more ways to create privacy labels, such as exporting them from data management software.

The tool can be found at privacylabel.org/tool

Introduction

The tool takes you through three steps:

  • Start with a label from scratch, from templates, or even by beginning with a label someone else created.
  • Next, the tool guides you through each of the label sections, and offers tips on how to choose the correct options for your organisation.
  • Finally, you can share the label with the world in a number of ways: by adding "embed code" to your website, or even by simply sharing a link.
PRIVACY

‌You don't need an account to use the tool. We've designed it in such a way that by default the data of the label you're working on is stored in your own browser, and not on our servers. A fun side-effect: this also means that you can continue editing a label even if your internet connection stops working. There is a downside: clearing your browser cache could also remove the label data.

‌That's why we also offer the option to create an account. Having one will make it easier to manage a lot of labels, as the label data will then be stored on our server too. There are some other advantages which are explained on the account documentation page.

Starting with a label

When you open the tool you are greeted with a number of options that are designed to get you started quickly.

We recommend starting from a template, as it could save you some time and worry. For example, if you are organising a conference, choose the conference template. It will pre-fill some values, but you can still change everything.

‌Other starting options:

  • New empty label. If you know a bit about data and privacy law, then you could start a label from scratch.
  • New label from link. You might have arrived at the tool from a privacy label you found in the wild. Clicking on the Privacy Label logo in any label will take you to a page on our website with the same label, but stripped of the title, description, explanations and contact information. From there you can choose to use that stripped-down version as your own starting point.
  • Import code. All privacy labels come with the JSON code that describes them. This is done to make them more 'machine readable'. It also means you can copy that code and import it here. This will fully reconstruct that label, so make sure you replace their title, description, explanations and contact details with your own.

If you've used the tool in that browser before, then label data might be stored in that browser's local storage. If there is, then you can choose to simply continue with the label you were working on before.

If you have an account and are logged in, then you also could select a label you stored on our server. 

Editing a label

Once you're started on a label you'll be on the introduction page. This is where you set the label title and description. Note that these have a maximum character count. The title may be up to 80 characters long, and the description may be up to 255 characters (including spaces and interpunction). The tool will warn you if you are reaching these limits.

‌Adding a title is mandatory. The description is optional.

‌Next, select the language in which you've written the title and description.

Automatic translation feature

‌Privacy Labels have the option to be automatically translated, to a degree. The only parts that can not be automatically translated are the title, description, and any explanations you may add. If your prefered language is not already available in our auto-translate feature, then you have a number of options:

  • Choose a non-language specific title, and simply don't add a description or explanations. The advantage will be that your label is fully translatable to all available languages.
  • Choose to write your label's title, description and explanations in a language that is available instead.
  • Help us translate the label into your language. We've made a very easy tool to do this, and should only take about 20 minutes. Your help would be greatly appreciated by us, and by others who speak your language.
  • Choose a language that can't automatically be translated to. Currently, this means the rest of the label will default to English, so your label will be a mix of two languages.

Other sections of the label

Each further section of the label has it's own separate documentation page, which you can find in the menu on the left. These pages are designed to help you pick the correct options for your organisation.

Each of these sections will offer a short introduction video to help you get to know the subject a bit. The sections also link to their respective documentation pages, so you can quickly get to this documentation at any time.