Thank you for visiting this Commonwealth of Pennsylvania website.
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (also referred to as âwe,â âusâ, or âoursâ) understands that the privacy of your information is important to you. This Privacy Policy describes how we may collect, use, and share your information when you visit us online (collectively, the âSitesâ). By accessing or using any of our Sites, you agree to the practices regarding your information described in this Privacy Policy. Please also note that we provide other online services not covered by this Privacy Policy. If you visit or access your accounts from one of those sites, please review the policy or notices for those sites to understand how your information may be collected, used, or shared.
Some Commonwealth agencies may publish additional policies as required by law, regulation, or according to agency business needs. Those additional policies can be found here.
This Privacy Policy is subject to change. Please review it periodically. When we make changes to our Privacy Policy, we will revise the âupdatedâ date at the top of this Policy. Any changes to this Policy will become effective when we post the revised Policy on our Sites.
For purposes of this Privacy Policy, Personal Information means any information about a natural person that is readily identifiable to that specific natural person. Personal Information includes such things as your name, address, email address, Social Security number, driverâs license information, and phone number.
Information that has been aggregated or anonymized is not considered Personal Information and can be used for any purpose unless otherwise prohibited by law.
When you access or use our Sites, we collect the following information:
We may collect the Personal Information that you choose to provide us when accessing or using our Sites, such as when applying, registering, or making payment for a benefit or service; contacting us with a question or request; subscribing to a newsletter or other electronic communication; or completing a web form. The Personal Information we receive from you varies based on what you do when visiting our Sites.
Depending on the Site you are accessing or using, the information collected, whether or not it is Personal Information, may include audio, video, and other graphic formats that you send us.
We may customize your browsing experience by utilizing your browserâs âcookiesâ to store a randomly generated identifying tag on your computer. A cookie is a small text file that is saved on your computer when you visit a website. Cookies make internet browsing easier for you by saving your preferences to improve your next visit to our Sites. Cookies are also used for statistical purposes, such as to determine how our Sites are used.
You can refuse the cookie or delete the cookie file from your computerâs browser at any time.
We may use Google Analytics to help us get a better understanding of how visitors use our Sites and to identify system performance or problem areas. The information generated by the Google Analytics cookie about your use of our Sites is transmitted to and stored by Google. If you do not want your activity on our Sites to be tracked by Google Analytics, you may opt-out by visiting the Google Analytics website.
We use retargeting to provide additional information to users based on their previous visits to our Sites. That information may appear as an advertisement on another website, or within internet search results. When you access or use one of our Sites, a third-party may place a cookie in the browser you used to visit our Site, which is used to display information or advertisements in the browser based on your prior visits to our Sites. More information about the third-party vendors we utilize for retargeting and your ability to opt-out of these advertising tools can be found here.
We use your non-Personal Information in a variety of ways, including to help analyze Site traffic, understand our usersâ needs and trends and to improve our services.
We do not collect or use Personal Information for commercial marketing. We will not sell or rent Personal Information collected online, except as otherwise provided for by law.
Please also note that Pennsylvaniaâs Right-to-Know Law, 65 P.S. §§ 67.101-67.3104, or other applicable laws may give the public the right to obtain certain records and information possessed by us. While there are exceptions to the publicâs right to access public records, the information we collect or that you send us may become a public record and be subject to public inspection and copying if not otherwise protected by federal or state law. By accessing or using our Sites, you consent to disclosure of such public record information as may be required, in our sole discretion, to comply with the Right-to-Know Law or other applicable laws.
We will retain your information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required by law.
Keeping your information accurate and up to date is very important. Any Personal Information you enter in a user profile will be open and accessible to you for review and modification.
You may decline participation in certain online activities, like surveys and newsletter subscriptions. Your choice to not participate will not affect your ability to view information on our Sites or to otherwise interact with us. To unsubscribe directly from any e-newsletter subscriptions, simply click the unsubscribe link located at the bottom of the newsletter.
The information posted on our Sites may include hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations (external websites). We provide these links for your information and convenience. When you select a link to an outside website, you are leaving our Site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the external website.
Information provided on our Sites is intended to allow for access to public information; it is not and should not be construed in any way as giving business, legal, or other advice. While we attempt to provide accurate, current, and reliable information, we recognize the possibility of human and/or mechanical error. Therefore, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, its officials, employees, and/or agents expressly disclaim any warranty of the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by our Sites and shall not be held liable for any losses caused by reliance upon the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of such information. Any person who relies upon such information obtained from our Sites does so at their own risk.
We engage with Pennsylvanians through many online channels, including PA.gov, governor.pa.gov, agency websites, and social media. We encourage the public to review our Social Media Policy.
The Childrenâs Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (âCOPPAâ), 15 U.S.C. §§ 6501-6505, governs information collected online from or about children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect such information without obtaining parental permission. COPPA requires parental permission before collecting personal information about children under the age of 13.
We take our responsibility to protect your Personal Information very seriously and have implemented appropriate security measures. For more information on how we secure your personal information, please see our security policy.