There’s a very significant shift in the data security governance landscape of India with the Digital Personal Data Protection rules (DPDP). These DPDP privacy principles have brought in very stringent requirements for compliance for enterprises handling personally identifiable information (PII). At the core of these DPDP rules lies the principle of Privacy by Design (PbD)- an approach that proactively integrates privacy measures into policies, system development, and business processes. Implementation of Privacy by Design not only ensures regulatory compliance but also helps in fostering transparency and trust among the stakeholders.
As per the research done by Pew Research Centre, 85% of Americans hold the belief that the risk of data collection is way bigger than its benefits. 76% of them also think that there are absolutely negligible benefits of doing these data processing activities. There’s also a notion among 81% of Americans familiar with Artificial Intelligence (AI) that the information collected by them will be utilised in ways individuals will not be comfortable with. And the purpose for which they were collected will change over time, which is what 80% of Americans believe.
However, with the rapid pace at which technology is growing, the incorporation of Privacy by Design into the business strategy is more important than ever. Since people no longer trust the companies handling their data, customers’ freedom must be prioritised, and they should have control over their data should become a core principle of data strategy.
Meaning of Privacy by Design
Privacy by Design refers to the framework of incorporating privacy into the backbone of services, products, and business operations from the beginning rather than after execution. Privy by IDfy, India’s first full-stack privacy & consent governance platform, has been built entirely around the principle of Privacy by Design, thereby transforming the idea into a practical tidal framework. Let’s understand all 7 principles of Privacy by Design and how Privy incorporates them to become the best privacy and DPDP platform in India.
7 Principles of Privacy by Design
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Full Functionality
Privacy by Design will not work on a fatalistic attitude. People who argue that certain trade-offs need to be made with the security protocols or the user experience are more of a zero-sum attitude. A positive-sum approach needs to be taken while integrating privacy into the design element seamlessly. The only way to see your brand grow in a world where privacy is a key differentiator is to implement this approach.
The Privy by IDfy suite has been designed to be agile, multilingual, easily integrated, and scalable. All of these processes are carried out without compromising the privacy protections. This modular architecture ensures that businesses neither have to sacrifice user experience nor speed to be compliant with the DPDP rules.
Also Read: Principles of Data Privacy and Protection Explained| Core Principles of DPDP
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Respect for User Privacy
The user’s privacy interest should always be kept in mind while designing the necessary guardrails and features. This respect for the user’s privacy should be incorporated in the design decision with an understanding that a good user experience means privacy privacy-first approach. This also puts the power back in the user’s hands to manage their own data. DPDP rules incorporate respect for user privacy via:
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Consent Management: The users should have clear choices and must be given explicit consent for data collection.
Privy by IDfy ensures that users genuinely have control over their data. It has a clear, non-dark pattern consent experience, with transparent logs showing which data is collected, when, and the purpose behind the same. It comes with simple dashboards to request deletion, correction, or copies of their data. Privy also has a real-time status tracking feature, letting users track each request, reflecting the backend progress across external vendors and internal teams.
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Privacy as the Default Setting
The last thing that should bother a user while browsing a website is their privacy settings. Privacy by default means they don’t have to worry about it. It sets the privacy of the user at the highest level of protection, irrespective of whether the user interacts with it or not. Privacy by default has been nicely incorporated by the DPDP rules in the form of various features, such as:
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Purpose Limitation: Personal data must be strictly used for the purpose for which it was collected.
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Data Minimisation: Only necessary data for the required purpose must be collected.
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Data Security Governance: Prevention of unauthorised access and data breaches with security controls.
In Privy’s architecture, the default data capture flows are configured in a way to only collect the minimum personal data required for the specified purpose, consistent with the DPDP rules in India. It has a built-in ‘purpose limitation’ logic that ties the data captured with the defined purpose automatically, and also flags use-cases outside these purposes. It also has a default secure setting enforced across modules, role-based access, encryption both at rest and in transit, and out-of-the-box audit trails.
Also Read: Cookie Consent Management & DPDP Rules: A Complete Guide for Indian Businesses
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End-to-end security
Privacy by Design ensures that the security of the data provided by the user is maintained throughout its lifecycle, starting from the point at which the personal data was collected to the point at which it was destroyed once its purpose was served. This complete lifecycle is where the interdisciplinary nature of these principles shines. It has a heavy reliance on the best security practices to provide end-to-end data protection.
One of the core principles of Privacy by Design is end-to-end protection of data from collection to usage, to storage, and eventual deletion or anonymisation. Privy reflects these with the help of its Consent Governance Platform (CGP), which tracks consent capture, modification, renewal, and withdrawal transparently.
The DPIA platform of Privy also ensures that risk assessments are done before initiating the new process, thereby aligning with the prevent-first ethos. The Data Principal Access Request Portal gives individuals control over their data, making it user-centric. The Vendor/Data Processor Management platform monitors third-party flows such that purpose limitation and minimisation are maintained.
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Privacy embedded into Design
Every conversation that companies have while building or designing the apps, websites, or any software application, for that matter, should inherently talk about including measures to protect user data and privacy. The privacy feature cannot be just attached at the end for embedded privacy to function. Of course, it should not be awkwardly included or so obvious that the functionality of the program being designed is disrupted. A privacy-first mindset should be incorporated before every new process or decision for privacy protection and functionality.
Privy adopts a ‘privacy-first engineering’ approach, which means that the platform is built such that privacy safeguards are a part of the system’s DNA and not added later. Privy comes with purpose-locked processing, which implies that every data point is tied to its specified purpose. In case there’s an addition of a new purpose, Privy forces a check on consent refresh, vendor review, and DPIA update before it allows further processing. The workflows are made such that data is limited to only where it is necessary. Modules such as CGP, DPIA, and vendor management share only metadata and not full datasets, thereby leading to minimal propagation of personal data.
Logging, encryption, access minimisation, and policy enforcement are all embedded into Privy. Admins cannot even accidentally create a non-compliant configuration because it is prevented by the architecture.
Also Read: Penalties Under DPDP: Fines, Breach Scenarios, and How to Reduce
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Proactive, not reactive
A privacy-first attitude supports a preventative approach towards privacy. Rather than reacting and fighting the privacy invasions and risks, organisations should build procedures and processes to prevent these accidents from happening in the first place.
Privacy by Design ensures that, as a framework, it is proactive and reactive. Privy has embedded that into its core across every module, be it the Consent Governance Platform, Data Processor Management, DPIA Platform, or the Data Principal Access Request Portal; all the modules have been built on this privacy-first approach.
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Visibility and Transparency
The best way to build trust and accountability among the users is to create an openness with the users with respect to the privacy procedures and policies. An integral part of Privacy by Design is to document and communicate the actions with consistency, clarity, and transparency. The DPDP rules incorporate Privacy by Design via a key feature called:
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Accountability: Demonstration of compliance via audits, documentation, and governance policies.
Privy embeds this principle of Privacy by Design via its real-time dashboards for DPOs and compliance teams, reflecting consent statuses, vendor relationships, DPIA outcomes, and processing flows that provide them with the visibility required to build a privacy-first culture. Privy also comes with audit-ready logs and built-in documentation to ensure that companies can demonstrate privacy decisions and their rationale behind processing.
As for the data subject, the Access Request Portal provides an interface to exercise their rights to align with the idea of user privacy and respect.
Also Read: How AI Regulations In India Are Changing: Opportunities and Risks
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How Privy by IDfy can help comply with the DPDP rules- Privacy by Design?
Privy by IDfy enables enterprises to embed Privacy by Design into every layer of their data lifecycle through its unified Consent Governance Platform, Cookie Manager, and Inspect AI. By automating consent governance, cookie compliance, data discovery, risk assessments, and policy validation, Privy helps organizations achieve proactive and continuous compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) 2023. Its interoperable, multilingual, and audit-ready infrastructure minimizes compliance risk while enhancing transparency, user trust, and operational accountability.
Get in touch with us at shivani@idfy.com to take control over your data with India’s most trusted DPDP compliance platform. We will keep you updated with the latest updates about the DPDP privacy principles and how they're going to impact your business. Stay glued to this space for more information on data, privacy, compliance, and all things DPDP.