Privacy Policy

Updated 11/2011

1. This website is provided as a public service by the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL).

2. All information on this site is considered public information and may be distributed or copied unless otherwise specified. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credits is requested.

3. If you choose to provide us with personal information, such as sending us an email or filling out a Contact Us form, we only use that information to respond to your message or request. We will only share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law. We never create individual profiles or give it to any private organizations. NRL never collects information for commercial marketing. While you must provide an e-mail address or postal address for a response other than those generated automatically in response to questions or comments that you may submit, we recommend that you NOT include any other personal information, especially Social Security numbers. The Social Security Administration offers additional guidance on sharing your Social Security number.

4. We maintain a variety of physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect your personal information. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

5. Except for authorized law enforcement investigation and to maintain required correspondence files, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. For site management, information is collected for statistical purposes only. Raw data logs are used to assess what content is of most and least interest, determine technical design specifications, and identify system performance or problem areas. This data is scheduled for regular destruction in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration guidelines.

6. Unauthorized attempts to upload information or change information on this service are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

7. If you have any questions or comments about the information presented here, please forward them to the NRL webmaster.

Use of Measurement and Customization Technology 

The Office of Management and Budget Memo, M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies, allows Federal agencies to use single session and persistent cookies. Cookies are used to remember a user's online interactions with a website or online application in order to conduct measurement and analysis of usage or to customize the user's experience.

There are two types of cookies, single session (Tier 1) and persistent (Tier 2). A single-session cookie (Tier 1) is a line of text that is stored temporarily on a user's computer and deleted as soon as the browser is closed. A persistent or multi-session cookie (Tier 2) is saved to a file on a user's hard drive and is called up the next time that user visits a website. Use of these cookies does not involve the collection of a visitor's personally identifiable information (PII).

NRL does not use the information associated with cookies to track individual user activity on the Internet outside NRL webpages, nor does it share the data obtained through such technologies with other departments or agencies, unless granted the user's explicit consent. NRL does not keep a database of information obtained from the use of cookies.

Cookies are enabled by default to optimize website functionality and customize user experience. Users can choose not to accept the use of these cookies by changing the settings on their local computer's web browser. The USA.gov website provides general instructions on how to opt out of cookies and other commonly used web measurement and customization technologies. Opting out of cookies still permits users to access comparable information and services; however, it may take longer to navigate or interact with the website, and we will not be able to use information from your visit to improve our site.

Specific Technologies

Tier 1 Cookies. NRL uses Tier 1 cookies for technical purposes to improve user experience and to allow users to more easily navigate the website.

Google Analytics. NRL uses Google Analytics software to collect aggregate statistics of website visitor characteristics, traffic, and activity. NRL uses this information to assess what content is of most and least interest, determine technical specifications, and identify system performance or problem areas. The software records a variety of data, including IP addresses (the locations of computers or networks on the Internet), unique visits, page views, hits, referring websites, type of browser, and which hyperlinks have been clicked. The software uses Tier 2 cookies to distinguish between summary statistics for users who have been to the site before and those that are visiting the site for the first time. NRL does not gather, request, record, require, collect or track any Internet users' PII through these processes.

Use of Third-party Websites and Applications 

NRL augments official communication by using third-party websites and applications that are not owned, operated, or controlled by NRL. These may include, but are not limited to, social networks (e.g., Facebook), media sharing services (e.g., YouTube), micro-blogs (e.g., Twitter), bookmarking tools (e.g., AddThis), blogs, wikis, and data mash-ups. When we use these services, the information we provide is consistent with the intended purpose of the NRL website. These services may collect PII and may make it available to NRL and other users; however, the PII is not collected on behalf of, nor is it provided specifically for, NRL. NRL does not harvest and additionally collect, maintain, share or otherwise use such PII for any purpose other than that for which it is made available to all users.