PrivacyChina

China Privacy Law PIPL privacy notice and consent checklist

Checklist for PIPL privacy notices, valid consent, separate consent, sensitive information, children under 14, withdrawal, and rights requests.

Give the Article 17 notice before processing, then match each consent request to the specific activity. Do not ask for consent when another Article 13 condition is the documented basis.

Author
Sorena AI
Published
Jul 5, 2026
Updated
Jul 24, 2026
Sections
3

Structured answer sets in this page tree.

Primary sources
2

Cited legal and guidance references.

Publication metadata
Sorena AI
Published Jul 5, 2026
Updated Jul 24, 2026
Overview

Give a prominent, clear, accurate, and complete Article 17 notice before processing. If consent is the Article 13 basis, the person must act voluntarily and explicitly after being fully informed. Separate consent is an additional, activity-specific consent for the PIPL situations that expressly require it; a general privacy-policy acceptance should not be treated as proof of every separate-consent decision.

Section 1

Build the notice around the real processing

Name the personal information processor and give its contact details. For each purpose, state the processing method, personal-information categories, retention period, and the method and procedure for exercising PIPL rights. Make the rules public and easy to consult and save.

A general notice is not enough for every special activity. Add the recipient's identity, contact details, purpose, method, and data categories before providing personal information to another independent processor. For an overseas recipient, also explain how the person can exercise PIPL rights against that recipient. For sensitive personal information, explain why processing is necessary and how it may affect the person's rights.

  • Content owner: use specific purposes and data categories rather than open-ended phrases. State the shortest necessary retention period unless a law or administrative regulation sets another period.
  • Product owner: show the notice before collection or other processing, and keep it accessible after the interaction.
  • Change owner: tell people when an Article 17 notice item changes. If consent is the basis and the purpose, method, or personal-information categories change, obtain new consent before the changed processing.
  • Exception owner: document any Article 18 notice exception. If an emergency made timely notice impossible, give notice promptly after the emergency ends.
Section 3

Run the launch and change checks

Review each screen and processing event against the data map, not only the published policy. A notice can be accurate while the product collects a different field, sends data to an undisclosed recipient, keeps it longer, or fails to apply withdrawal.

Complete a personal information protection impact assessment before processing sensitive information, entrusting processing, providing information to another processor, publicly disclosing information, or exporting information. Keep the PIPIA report and processing record for at least three years.

  • Before launch: reconcile purposes, data categories, SDK and vendor flows, retention, recipient roles, consent triggers, sensitive-information controls, and rights channels.
  • After launch: test notice visibility, consent-state enforcement, withdrawal, deletion, recipient restrictions, and treatment of users who refuse optional processing.
  • On change: reopen the notice and consent analysis when a purpose, method, data category, recipient, retention period, or overseas destination changes.
  • For apps: do not deny a basic function because the user refuses personal information that the official app-category rules do not identify as necessary for that function.
Primary sources

References and citations

cac.gov.cn
Referenced sections
  • Articles 21, 55, and 56 require pre-processing impact assessments for listed higher-risk activities and retention of the assessment and processing record for at least three years.
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