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Social Security Online

Internet Privacy Policy

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Our Commitment to You

	As a Federal agency, the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a) requires us to protect the information we collect from you. We respect your right to privacy and will protect it when you visit our website. We have always treated the privacy of our customers with utmost importance. In fact, we wrote our first regulation to ensure your privacy. You may have access to any of the information we collect about you at this site and we will correct any errors you may find. Our regulation subsection 401.40 provides information on how to get information about you and subsection 401.65 provides information on how to correct information about you. The Privacy Policy below explains our online information practices. This policy applies only to the information we collect from you over the Internet. This policy does not apply to third-party websites that you are able to reach from our website, nor does it cover other information collection practices within the Social Security Administration. For more information about our privacy practices, please visit our privacy and disclosure webpage.
What We Automatically Collect Online	We automatically collect information about your visit to our site for statistical purposes only (see http://www.socialsecurity.gov/web_stats.html). We do not collect information that can identify you personally. We can tell what computer, browser, and web service you are using. We also know the date, time, and pages you visit. We collect and analyze this information because it helps us to better design our website to suit your needs. We may also automatically collect information about the web content you view in the event of a known security or virus threat.
Other Information We May Collect	All personal information you provide to us is voluntary. We may collect personal information about you (such as, name, e-mail address, Social Security Number, or other unique identifier) only if you specifically and knowingly provide it to us.
Why We Collect Personal Information	We collect personally identifiable information and other information only as necessary to administer our programs. The information you provide will be used only for that purpose. We do not sell the information collected at this site, or any other information we collect. You do not have to give us personal information to visit our website.
Sharing Your Information	We may share the information you provide with our employees or representatives with a “need-to-know,” other Federal agencies (for example, Railroad Retirement Board, or the Department of Veterans Affairs), or other named representatives as needed to expeditiously process your request or transaction. In a government-wide effort to combat security and virus threats, we may share some information we collect automatically, such as your Internet Protocol address, with other Federal government agencies. Also, Federal law (such as, the Privacy Act and Social Security Act) may require us to share the collected information for other purposes. More information about how we share information can be found in our Privacy Act Notices of Systems of Records.
How We Use Your Personal Information	Throughout our website, we will let you know if the information we ask you to provide is voluntary or required. By providing your personal information, you give us consent to use the information only for the purpose for which it was collected. We describe those purposes when we collect information. We will ask for your consent before using the information you provide for any secondary purpose other than those required by Federal law.
COPPA	We are especially concerned about protecting children’s privacy. Therefore, we comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying Federal Trade Commission regulation establish United States Federal law that protects the privacy of children using the Internet. We encourage parents and teachers to involve themselves in children’s Internet explorations. We do not intentionally collect information from children under the age of 13. Our “Kids’ Place” page does not require children to provide any information that could personally identify them. If, however, a child chooses to provide personally identifying information to us, through an e-mail or otherwise, we will only use it to respond to the inquiry and we will not retain it.
Cookies	What is a “cookie?” A cookie is a small piece of text that is sent to your computer along with a webpage when you visit a website. Your computer will give the information in the cookie only to the computer that sent it, and no other website can request it. There are three types of cookies--persistent, third-party, and session. We never use persistent or third-party cookies, but sometimes we use session cookies. We use session cookies only in some places where you can transact business. We store the cookie on your computer only during you visit, and we will tell you in advance when we do. The session cookie keeps you from losing information you have entered for a business transaction with us if, during your visit, you leave our website and return. Once you turn off your computer or stop using the Internet, the cookie is erased.
Security	The Internet was originally designed as an open system with no built-in security; however, we are required to protect the information we collect and maintain about you and will not use the Internet to do business with you unless we can do so in a secure manner. We will take reasonable precautions to maintain the security, confidentiality, and integrity of the information we collect at this site. We take the following steps to secure the information we collect. Employ internal access controls to ensure that the only people who see your information are those with a need to do so to perform their official duties. Train appropriate personnel on our privacy and security policies to know requirements for compliance. Secure the areas where we retain paper copies of the information we collect online. Perform regular backups of the information we collect online to ensure against loss. Use technical controls to secure the information we collect online including, but not limited to: Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Encryption Firewalls Password protections Periodically test our security procedures to ensure personnel and technical compliance. Employ external access safeguards to identify and prevent unauthorized tries of outsiders to “hack” into, or cause harm to, the information contained in our systems. When we use contractors to perform various website and database functions. We make sure that the agreement language with the contractor ensures the security, confidentiality, and integrity of any personal information the contractor may have access to in the course of contract performance.
Email	We suggest that you do not send personal information to us via email. We will only send you general information via email. Electronic mail messages that meet the definition of records in the Federal Records Act (44 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) are covered under the same disposition schedule as all other Federal records. This means that emails you send us will be preserved and maintained for varying periods of time if those emails meet the definition of Federal records. Electronic messages that are not records are deleted when no longer needed.
Visiting Other Websites	Our website contains links to international agencies, private organizations, and some commercial entities. These websites are not within our control and may not follow the same privacy, security, or accessibility polices. Once you link to another site, you are subject to the policies of that site. All Federal websites, however, are subject to the same Federal policy, security, or accessibility mandates.


	Privacy Policy \| Website Policies & Other Important Information \| Site Map Last reviewed or modified Friday Oct 23, 2009	Need Larger Text?