Tool Overview:
Termly

About Termly

Termly is a compliance solutions provider that helps businesses manage their privacy obligations and legal requirements through automated tools and services. The platform serves over 1 million businesses, focusing on creating and maintaining legal policies and consent management for websites, blogs, and applications. Termly positions itself as an alternative to traditional legal services, offering automated compliance solutions at a significantly lower cost than paying for legal advice directly.

Our Termly Review & Tests

We set Termly up on a test website on the free account. Registration was simple - just email and password with no credit card details required. Once you login, you add the website url then it takes you through a 'Compliance Checklist' with:

1. Add Business information, such as the company legal name, contact details.
2. Create a privacy policy
3. Create Terms & Conditions
4. Scan the site for Cookies

The 'Consent Scan' was triggered from a button at the top of the dashboard (see screenshots in the gallery below). It took a minute or two. Once that finished there was a simple report that broke down cookies by category: Essential, Advertising, Analytics & Customization, Performance & Functionality, Social Networking, Unclassified. It allows automated scanning on a regular basis, but only on a quarterly schedule on a free plan. On paid plans you can scan monthly or weekly.

From here it has a button to create a Cookie Policy. There was some customisation options, but it wasn't possible to remove the Termly branding without upgrading to a paid plan, starting from $15 per month. We could also generate other policies like the 'Terms and Conditions' and a 'Privacy Policy' in a similar way. These required answers to more questions along the way, such as the type of platform or users locations.

Termly also allows us to generate a consent banner, which can be embedded with some html in a script tag. On the free plan it allowed some styling options such as Banner vs Modal and position on the screen. It allows customization by region: Global, US, California only, Europe - but again only on a paid plan. There is also multi-language support, we were offered 16 different language options if we upgraded to Pro+. There was also Consent Logs available in the dashboard to comply with the GDPR Article 30 (Records of processing activities), on paid plans.

Overall it felt very simple to use, the scanning was a great feature and we liked the auto categorization of cookies into categories. For a large multinational organization with more complex requirements - such as fixed organization cookie categories or many different geo requirements outside of those listed above, it could be more limited.

What does Termly do?

Termly provides a suite of compliance tools designed to help businesses navigate complex privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA, and the ePrivacy Regulation. The platform's main function is to generate and maintain legal policies through its automated software that creates customized documentation based on each business's specific needs. These policies can be implemented through simple integration options, requiring users to only copy and paste a link or code snippet onto their website.

The platform also includes a cookie consent management system that addresses the requirements of data privacy laws, particularly focusing on the consent requirements outlined in GDPR, CCPA and the ePrivacy Directive. This system helps businesses maintain compliance with complex consent laws while managing user preferences for data collection and processing.

A great feature of Termly's service is its automated policy update system. When new laws or regulations come into effect, the platform automatically updates all policies to ensure continued compliance. This automation helps businesses maintain current documentation without requiring constant manual oversight or legal consultation.

What makes Termly different?

Termly aims to make legal compliance accessible (and cheaper) through automation. Instead of having to hire their own legal advisors, the platform uses its own legal advice and technology to generate and maintain legal documentation. This approach allows Termly to offer its basic compliance solutions at no cost, making it accessible for smaller businesses and startups that may find traditional legal services cost-prohibitive. Once businesses require more advanced features or further customization then they have to upgrade to a paid plan.

Termly's system creates customized policies rather than using generic templates. The software generates documentation tailored to each business's specific circumstances and requirements, while maintaining compliance with relevant regulations. This customization extends to various types of legal documents, including terms of service, privacy policies, and end-user license agreements.

Use cases and industries

Termly positioning and pricing structure suggest a focus on smaller to medium-sized businesses seeking cost-effective compliance solutions. It serves a broad range of business types, from individual bloggers to e-commerce platforms and application developers. The platform's services are relevant for businesses that collect user data, or provide digital services to customers.

The platform addresses several key use cases, including the creation and maintenance of privacy policies, terms of service, and end-user license agreements. It provides specific solutions for businesses operating under different jurisdictional requirements, helping them navigate some of the main international privacy laws. The automated nature of the service makes it particularly suitable for businesses that lack dedicated legal resources or require frequent policy updates to maintain compliance with evolving regulations.