NGS Privacy Policy

Rights under the Privacy Act

The Privacy Act of 1974 provides safeguards against invasion of personal privacy through the misuse of records by Federal Agencies.

The Privacy Act was passed in 1974 to establish controls over what personal information is collected, maintained, used and disseminated by agencies in the executive branch of the Federal government.

The Privacy Act guarantees three primary rights:

• The right to see records about oneself, subject to Privacy Act exemptions;
• The right to request the amendment of records that are not accurate, relevant, timely or complete; and
• The right of individuals to be protected against unwarranted invasion of their privacy resulting from the collection, maintenance, use, and disclosure of personal information.

If you are a citizen of the United States or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, you may make a request for personal information on yourself under the Privacy Act. Go to the Request page for more information.

Requests made under the Privacy Act will be processed under both the Privacy Act and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to ensure the greatest access to your personal records.

The Big Picture

The National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is committed to the privacy of our visitors. NGS complies with requirements for privacy and security established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Your visit to the NGS website is private and secure. We do not collect any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) about you, unless you explicitly choose to provide it to us. We do, however, collect some data about your visit to our website in order to help us improve our products and services, and to help us make the site more useful to visitors.

How we manage information about your visit

When you browse this website, read pages, or download information, we automatically gather and store certain information about your visit. This information does not identify you personally. From your visit, we automatically collect and store information, such as:

We use this information to help us make our site more useful to visitors— and to learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use.

For site security purposes and to ensure this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic or identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage. If such monitoring reveals evidence of possible abuse or criminal activity, such evidence may be provided to appropriate law enforcement officials. Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on this server are strictly prohibited and may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act or other laws.

Information You Voluntarily Provide

We do not collect personally identifiable information unless you choose to provide it to us, for example, by sending an email or by filling out a form and submitting it through our website. We use that information only to help us respond to your request. Voluntarily submitting your information constitutes your consent for us to use the information for the stated purpose of the communication. Clicking the "Submit" button on any of the Web forms found on our site indicates your consent for us to use the information for the stated purpose. We do not collect or use information for commercial marketing.

How Information is Used

We may collect information for a variety of purposes, such as responding to requests for information on our products, services, programs and policies, and to disseminate geospatial data. We attempt to clearly disclose how information is used at the point where it is collected, so our users can determine for themselves whether they wish to provide the information.

Sharing of Information

We may share the information you give us with another government agency if your inquiry relates to that agency. In other limited circumstances, such as responding to requests from Congress or private individuals, we may be required by law to disclose information you submit. Before you submit personally identifiable information, such as on an online form, you will be advised as to the purpose of the request and how the information will be used.

We may also share information collected during your visit with non-federal entities, but only if your inquiry requires accessing data from that external entity. All of our sites requiring such external access will be clearly identified to help you make an informed choice.

Retention of Information

We destroy the information we collect when the purpose the information was provided for has been fulfilled, unless we are required by statute or official policy to retain the information for a longer period of time. Electronically submitted information is maintained and/or destroyed according to the principles of the Federal Records Act, in compliance with regulations and record keeping schedules approved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). In some cases, information submitted to us may become an agency record and therefore might be subject to a Freedom-of-Information-Act request.

Links to Other Sites

The NGS website may have links to websites of other federal agencies, and there may be links to private organizations, with their permission. Once you go to another site, you are subject to the privacy and security policies of that site. It is always a good idea to read the privacy policy of any website that you visit. Our site does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained in a linked site. We also do not endorse the organizations or individuals maintaining sites that are linked to our site, nor do we endorse any views they express or any products or services they offer.

How NGS Uses Cookies

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memo M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies," (here), allows federal agencies to use session and persistent cookies.

When you visit any website, its server may generate a text file called a "cookie." The cookie allows the server to "remember" specific information about your visit while you are connected. The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of webpages. There are two types of cookies, single session (temporary) and multi session (persistent). Session cookies last only as long as your Web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

How Temporary Cookies Are Used:

NGS uses session cookies for purposes such as improving your navigation through our website. Session cookies let our server know you are continuing a visit to our website, but these cookies are not permanently stored on your computer. The cookie and the information about your visit are automatically destroyed shortly after you close your browser to end the session. The OMB Memo 10-22 defines our use of session cookies as "Usage Tier 1—Single Session." The policy states, "This tier encompasses any use of single-session Web measurement and customization technologies."

How Persistent Cookies Are Used:

The OMB Memo 10-22 defines our use of persistent cookies as "Usage Tier 2—Multi-session without PII." The policy states, "This tier encompasses any use of multi-session Web measurement and customization technologies when no PII is collected." NGS uses persistent cookies to help us recognize new and returning visitors to the NGS website. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to the NGS website until they expire. We do not use this technology to identify individual website visitors.

How to Opt Out or Disable Cookies:

If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them using your web browser. If you opt out of using cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources the NGS website provides. Instructions for disabling or opting out of cookies in the most popular browsers are located at http://www.usa.gov/optout_instructions.shtml. Please note that by following the instructions to opt out of cookies, you will disable cookies from all sources, not just those from the NGS website.

Interaction with Children

This website may offer educational content to children 13 years of age or under. No personally identifiable information is collected from them, unless it is voluntarily submitted as a request for information or services. The information collected is used either to respond to user inquiries or to provide services as requested by our users.

Third-party Social-Media Tools

NGS maintains official pages or accounts on several third-party websites in order to better engage with the American public and promote awareness of NGS activities, events, news, and information. Your activity on those sites is governed by their security and privacy policies. Users of those sites often share information with the general public, the user community, and/or the party operating the site. You should review the privacy policies of third-party sites before using them to ensure you understand how information you provide may be used. On any third-party site you should also adjust the privacy settings for your account to match your preferences.