A privacy notice is a transparency disclosure provided at or before the point personal data is collected, explaining what is gathered, why, and how it will be used. Under GDPR Articles 13 and 14, data controllers must proactively provide this — not wait to be asked. A privacy notice differs from a privacy policy: a policy covers all processing activities across an organization; a notice is a targeted, in-context disclosure — a cookie banner tooltip, a checkout alert, or a form note. The ICO and EDPB recommend a layered approach: a concise notice at the point of collection, linking to the full policy for more detail.