<p>Two types of privacy policies—privacy assurance and personalization declaration—are commonly utilized in online cookies. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of imbalanced privacy policies (focusing on either privacy assurance or personalization declaration) with balanced privacy policies (which emphasize both equally) in the context of GenAI applications. Drawing from cognitive dissonance theory and goal-framing theory, we investigated how these (im)balanced privacy policies affect customer ethical judgment and purchasing responses, particularly in relation to normative and hedonic goals. Our mixed-methods research, which includes one qualitative study and three empirical studies, consistently indicates that imbalanced privacy policies outperform balanced ones in promoting the ethical acceptability of GenAI content. Moreover, the positive effects of imbalanced privacy policies diminish when customers prioritize higher normative goals but strengthen when they focus on hedonic goals. Mediation analyses further revealed that the ethical acceptability of GenAI content mediates the relationship between (im)balanced privacy policies and customer purchase intentions and amounts. Overall, these findings provide insights for companies using GenAI to effectively design their cookie policies, enhancing customer ethical judgment and purchase responses.</p>