About Smithsonian

Privacy Policy Overview

Thank you for visiting Smithsonian magazine's Web site and reviewing our privacy policy. Smithsonian magazine does not collect your personal information when you visit our Web site unless you choose to provide that information to us. Smithsonian does not sell, exchange or release your personal information to outside parties without your consent. Once we obtain your consent, we consider it valid until revoked by you.

This privacy policy applies only to the online activities of Smithsonian magazine. For direct mail and other marketing activities not involving electronic commerce, Smithsonian magazine adheres to the Direct Marketing Association's Privacy Promise and privacy guidelines.

Information Collected and Stored Automatically

If you visit our Web site, we automatically gather and store the following information about your visit so that we can track the use of our website in order to make improvements. This information is stored and used in aggregate form only, and is not used to contact you personally:

   • The IP address from which you access our Web site
   • The name of the domain from which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are connecting from an America
      Online account)
   • The type of browser and operating system used to access our Web site
   • The date and time you access our site
   • The pages, files, documents and links that you visit
   • The Internet address of the Web site from which you linked to this Web site

Cookies

In addition to information collected automatically, we may also collect cookies, which are small pieces of information sent to your browser by a Web site that you visit. Cookies are used to track usage patterns, traffic trends and customer behavior, as well as to record other information from the Web site. When you register on the Web site, cookies also allow us to save information so that you will not have to re-enter it the next time you visit. Many content adjustments and customer service improvements are made based on the data derived from cookies. Information that we collect from cookies will not be used to create profiles of users and will only be used in aggregate form.

We may employ other companies to provide marketing services on our behalf. With our approval, these third parties may also place "cookies" for analysis purposes. These third-party companies will have access to the information needed to perform their functions but cannot use that information for any other purpose. These third-party companies will only have access to non-personal information about your visit or transaction, such as the URLs which lead you to and around our site, pages visited, the product(s) purchased, and the amount spent; these companies will not have access to information that will allow them to personally identify you.

You may set your browser to refuse cookies from any Web site that you visit. If you choose to do so, you may still gain access to most of Smithsonian magazine's Web site, but you may not be able to take advantage of some of the interactive elements offered.

If You Send Us Personal Information

Smithsonian magazine's Web site will only collect personal information which you knowingly and voluntarily provide by, for example, sending emails, completing membership forms, registering for classes, events or other programs, responding to surveys or ordering merchandise. If you provide us with personal information, we will normally respond to your inquiry, request or order. We may also contact you to provide information about Smithsonian activities, programs, membership and development opportunities, products and special events that may interest you. We will never share your name or information outside the Smithsonian unless you affirmatively authorize us to do so by opting-in.

When we send you such information by email, you will always have an immediate opportunity to decline further communication. Please use the contact specified in the email so that we can remove you from the list that contains your name. If you are uncertain about whom to contact, you may contact our webmaster at smithsonianmagazine@si.edu.

There are opportunities to opt-in to receive information from non-Smithsonian entities. If you opt-in, you may receive correspondence from these organizations on programs, products or services that might interest you. If you decide to opt-out of receiving any further correspondence from a non-Smithsonian entity, please correspond directly with that business or organization to be removed from their mailing list.

Children and Privacy

Smithsonian magazine is concerned about protecting children's privacy. We do not collect personally identifiable information from children. Smithsonian magazine's Kids' Castle has a place where children may post messages or provide feedback, but children are discouraged from providing personal information. If a visitor known to be a child (under the age of 13) sends an email to Smithsonian magazine, we will only use it to respond to the writer and not to create profiles or otherwise retain the information.

Security

We take reasonable precautions to ensure that all credit card transactions that occur on the Web site are secure. When you submit your credit card for any purchase at Smithsonian magazine, that transaction is encrypted using "Secure Socket Layer" (SSL) encryption to prevent your credit card information from being seen as it travels over the Internet to our servers. We monitor network traffic to ensure that our site remains available to all users and to identify unauthorized attempts to access, upload or change information or otherwise cause damage.

Unauthorized access is prohibited and punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

Linking

Within Smithsonian magazine's Web site are links to non-Smithsonian Web sites. When you link to a third party Web site, you leave our Web site and will no longer be subject to our privacy policy. The Smithsonian is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of non-Smithsonian Web sites, and such link is not intended to be an endorsement of the non-Smithsonian Web site or its content.

Comments

Questions and comments about this Smithsonian magazine Privacy Policy may be directed to us via email at smithsonianmagazine@si.edu. The Smithsonian Institution is a large organization with many people sharing responsibility for the content of Web sites. Please help us respond to your comments and inquiries by sending them to the appropriate Smithsonian office. In order to help you contact the appropriate Smithsonian office, please consult our list of contacts at http://smithsonian.org/contacts.