Some web site policies claim it only covers online contacts.  This makes no sense and is a red flag that there is no coordinated privacy program, a policy was copied without much thought, or the site is attempting to use a legal loophole to avoid claims against failing to honor the policy.  Would it make sense to have separate privacy policies for telephone communications or regular mail?  A coordinated privacy program would have one policy covering the collection and use of information no matter what the medium.

Privacy policies with clauses claiming it only covers online communications has been used by seal programs, such as TRUSTe, as an excuse not to process complaints.