Privacy policy
Thank you for visiting dotgov.gov
Our privacy policy is clear: Unless you choose to provide additional information to us, we will collect no personal information about you other than statistical information that can be used to make the site more effective for all our visitors.
Information we gather
The only information that is automatically collected and stored is:
- the name of the domain from which you access the internet (i.e., DHS.gov if you are connecting from a DHS account, or GMU.edu if you are connecting from George Mason University’s domain)
- the date and time of your visit
- the pages you visit on dotgov.gov
- the internet address of the website you came from if it linked you directly to dotgov.gov
- search terms that you enter into the dotgov.gov search tool
If your browser accepts cookies, we may use a session cookie to lean how many different visitors come to dotgov.gov. We use this information for statistical purposes and to help us make our site more useful to you.
Information you send us
When you send us personal information (e.g., in an electronic mail message containing a question or comment) or by filling out a form that emails us this information, we only use this information to respond to your request. Such application information is carefully protected by the agency and not available in or retained by web tracking software. We may forward your email to the government employee who can best answer your question(s). We do not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about our visitors, unless required for law enforcement or statute.
Domain Registration information: Registration information for .Gov domains requires Point of Contact information. In order to support security of the internet, we are required to offer the WHOIS service with respect to the top-level domain.Gov for which we are the registry. This service allows you or anyone else to determine the availability of domain names and the contact information for the registrar who registered a domain name on behalf of a registrant. WHOIS service typically contains the registrant’s name, contact person’s name, address, telephone number, email address, and/or IP address as provided to us by the registrar for the domain name. Via the WHOIS service, this information may be disclosed to unaffiliated third parties in order to determine the registrant or the registrar in case of:
- technical problems that might occur when accessing its domain
- assisting law enforcement authorities in investigations, crime prevention, and matters of national security
- helping to counter the infringement of third-party legal rights
- preventing fraud
However, only that data necessary for the purposes described above.
We want to make it clear that we will not obtain personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide that information to us. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, or as otherwise required by law, we do not share any information we receive with anyone else.
Security
For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, GSA servers (owned or contracted), use industry-standard methods to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on GSA servers are strictly prohibited and may be punishable by law, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.