HealthIT.gov Privacy Policy Notice
This privacy policy describes what information HHS collects from you when you visit our websites and how we handle that information. This policy applies to HHS.gov and a number of other HHS websites, including HealthIT.gov. Some HHS websites maintain their own privacy policies. You can find links to the applicable privacy policy in the footer of every HHS website.
Overview
For HHS.gov and other HHS websites under this privacy policy:
- We do not collect personally identifiable information (PII) about you unless you choose to provide that information to us.
- Any personally identifiable information (PII) you choose to provide is protected by privacy and security practices.
- We may automatically collect and temporarily store information related to your visit to our website that is not personally identifiable information (PII).
- HHS does not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personally identifiable information (PII) about our visitors unless required for law enforcement or by federal law.
What is Personally Identifiable Information (PII)?
PII is information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.
PII can include:
- Sensitive data, such as medical, financial, or legal information;
- “Neutral” information, such as name, facial photos, or work address; and
- Contextual information, such as a file for a specific health condition that contains a list of treated patients.
Information Automatically Collected and Stored
When you visit our websites, we may automatically gather and temporarily store a variety of information about your visit. The basic information we collect during your visit includes:
- The name of the domain you use to access the Internet (for example, Verizon.com if you are using a Verizon online account or stanford.edu if you are connecting from Stanford University’s domain);
- The date and time of your visit to our website;
- The pages and documents you viewed on our website;
- The URL of the website you visited prior to ours;
- The type and version of your Web browser and operating system; and
- Your location at the time of your visit, down to the city-level.
We do not associate any of the data we automatically collect with your personally identifiable information (PII). Instead, we aggregate this data from all users’ visits to improve our website and provide a better user experience to our visitors. The aggregate data is available only to designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. We retain this information only for as long as needed for proper analysis.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII) Voluntarily Submitted to HHS
If you choose to provide HHS with your personally identifiable information (PII) โfor example, by completing a “Contact Us” form, leaving a comment, sending an email, or completing a surveyโwe may use that information to respond to your message and/or help us get you the information or services you requested. Submitting personally identifiable information (PII) such as name, address, telephone number, email address, etc. is voluntary and is not required to access information on our website.
We retain the information only for as long as necessary to respond to your question or request, in most cases no longer than three months. We maintain and destroy information submitted electronically as required by the Federal Records Act and the National Archives and Records Administration’s (NARA) records schedules. It may be subject to disclosure in certain cases (for example, if required by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, court order, or Congressional access request, or if authorized by a Privacy Act SORN). The information is subject to the Privacy Act if maintained in a Privacy Act system.
HHS also automatically receives information when you visit our websites that is not personally identifiable information (PII).
Interaction with Children Online
The Department will take all reasonable steps necessary to protect the privacy and safety of any child from whom we collect information, as required by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). A child’s parent or guardian is required to provide consent before HHS collects, uses, or shares personally identifiable information (PII) from a child under age 13.
Specific HHS websites will provide information and instructions for how we obtain consent when collecting information about a child. The website will specify exactly what information is collected, how the information is used, who sees it, and how long it is kept.
If you are under 13 and visit any websites, the law says that you and your parents are in charge of what personally identifiable information (PII) the websites can know about you. Some examples of PII are your full name, home address, email address, phone number, age, and sex.
Cookies
Websites can automatically place small text files, known as “cookies,” on their visitors’ computers. Cookies identify the unique browser used by the visitor unless you delete them or they expire. On each subsequent visit to the website, the visitor’s browser will retrieve the cookie, allowing HHS to aggregate the number of return visitors. HHS uses “cookies” to test and optimize our websites’ design and content. We use two types of cookies on HHS websites:
- We use session cookies to gather data for technical purposes, such as improving navigation through our website and generating statistics about how the website is used. Session cookies are temporary text files that expire when you leave our website. Cookies delete automatically from your computer as soon as they expire. We do not use session cookies to collect personally identifiable information (PII), and we do not share data collected from session cookies.
- We use multi-session cookies, or persistent cookies, to customize our website for frequent visitors and to test variations of website design and content. Multi-session cookies are cookies that are stored over more than a single session on your computer. We do not use multi-session cookies to collect personally identifiable information (PII), and we do not share data collected from multi-session cookies. Our multi-session cookies expire two years after your last visit to our website. These cookies delete automatically from your computer as soon as they expire.
You can block cookies from your computer by opting out . Blocking session cookies from your computer will not affect your access to the content and tools on our websites. Blocking multi-session or persistent cookies may affect the personalization of the information on these websites.
Cookies used on HealthIT.gov
The following cookies may be set when you visit HealthIT.gov. Cookies listed with a duration of “session” are session cookies; all others are multi-session cookies. Some cookies are set by third-party services embedded in our pages โ see Third-Party Websites and Applications Used by HHS below for more information about each provider.
Necessary
Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information (PII).
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
cookieyes-* | 1 year | Stores your cookie consent preferences for this website. |
_cfuvid | Session | Set by Cloudflare to maintain session consistency and to distinguish traffic for rate-limiting and automated-traffic protection. |
rc::a | Does not expire | Set by Google reCAPTCHA to distinguish human visitors from automated traffic and protect our forms against spam and abuse. |
rc::c | Session | Set by Google reCAPTCHA to distinguish human visitors from automated traffic and protect our forms against spam and abuse. |
__Secure-YNID | 6 months | Set by YouTube to support security and fraud prevention for embedded video content. |
VISITOR_PRIVACY_METADATA | 6 months | Set by YouTube to store your cookie consent state for embedded video content. |
wpEmojiSettingsSupports | Session | Set by WordPress when a page containing emoji is loaded, to determine whether your browser can display emoji correctly. |
Functional
Functional cookies enable certain features of the site, such as playing embedded video, sharing content on social media platforms, and collecting feedback.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
__Secure-ROLLOUT_TOKEN | 6 months | Set by YouTube to deliver a consistent video player experience while Google tests and stages new player features. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 6 months | Set by YouTube to estimate your bandwidth and determine which version of the video player interface to serve. |
ytidb::LAST_RESULT_ENTRY_KEY | Does not expire | Set by YouTube to store the last search result entry you selected within the embedded player. |
Analytics
Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with HealthIT.gov, including metrics such as the number of visitors, pages viewed, and traffic sources. The data collected is aggregated and is not used to identify individual visitors.
| Cookie | Duration | Description |
|---|---|---|
_ga | 2 years | Set by Google Analytics to distinguish unique browsers using a randomly generated client ID. Used to calculate visitor, session, and campaign data. |
_ga_* | 2 years | Set by Google Analytics 4 to persist session state. The suffix is the GA4 measurement ID for the property. |
_hjSessionUser_* | 1 year | Set by Hotjar when you first land on a page. Persists a randomly generated Hotjar user ID unique to this site so that later visits are attributed to the same browser. |
_hjSession_* | 30 minutes | Set by Hotjar to hold current session data so that subsequent requests within the session window are attributed to the same session. |
_hjDonePolls | 1 year | Set by Hotjar when you complete an on-site survey, so that the same survey does not reappear. |
YSC | Session | Set by YouTube to track views of embedded videos. |
Advertising
HealthIT.gov does not display advertising and does not set cookies for advertising purposes. We do not use cookies to build advertising profiles, and we do not sell or share cookie data with advertisers.
Managing your cookie preferences
You can review and change your cookie settings at any time by selecting the Consent Preferences link in the website footer. This reopens the cookie consent banner, where you can update your preferences or withdraw your consent immediately.
You can also block or delete cookies through your browser settings. The following pages explain how to do this in commonly used browsers:
If you use a different browser, please refer to that browser’s official support documentation.
Demographic and Interest Data
On some portions of our website, we may enable third-party software to provide aggregate demographic and interest data of our visitors. While some websites use these tools to present you with advertisements, HHS only uses them to measure demographic data. HHS has no control over advertisements presented to you on other websites. This means that third-party vendors, including Google, may show you public health campaign advertisements created by HHS and its agencies on non-government websites based on your visits to HHS websites.
Third-Party Websites and Applications Used by HHS
HHS maintains official pages or accounts on third-party websites in order to better engage and communicate with the public. Third-party websites are websites that we do not maintain or control. We have accounts on some third-party websites so we can connect with people interested in health and human services information. Examples of third-party websites that HHS uses include YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
All official HHS information available on third-party websites is also available on HHS websites. The third-party website’s security and privacy policies govern your activity on their website. Users of third-party websites often share information with the public, user communities, and/or the third-party organization operating the website. It is important for you to review the privacy policies of third-party websites so you understand how they use and share your information. You should also adjust the privacy settings of your account on any third-party website to match your preferences.
If you have an account or profile with a third-party website and choose to follow, like, friend, or comment on a third-party website managed by HHS, certain personally identifiable information (PII) associated with your account may be available to us based on the privacy policies of the third-party website and your privacy settings within that website. We do not share personally identifiable information available through these websites.
HHS conducts and publishes a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) for each use of a third-party website. Each use of a third-party website may have unique features or practices. HHS sometimes collects and uses the information made available through third-party websites.
- In order to comply with the Federal Records Act, HHS archives some information that users submit or publish when engaging with the HHS through official HHS pages or accounts on third-party websites (e.g., by sending a message, posting a comment, “following,” “friending,” or taking similar actions). This information may contain personally identifiable information (PII), such as an individual’s username, other public account information, and any information provided in a message or comment, when such information is available based on the user’s privacy settings and the terms of the site.
HHS uses the following third-party websites and applications.
ArchiveSocial: HHS uses ArchiveSocial to interface directly with each social network to capture and preserve data in its native form. Read the ArchiveSocial Privacy Policy.
CookieYes: HealthIT.gov uses CookieYes to present the cookie consent banner and to record and honor your cookie preferences. CookieYes stores your consent choices so that they persist across visits. It does not collect personally identifiable information (PII). Read the CookieYes Privacy Policy.
Cloudflare: HealthIT.gov uses Cloudflare to deliver site content, improve page load performance, and protect the site against automated and malicious traffic. Cloudflare processes technical connection information, including IP address, in order to route and secure requests. HHS does not use Cloudflare to collect personally identifiable information (PII). Read the Cloudflare Privacy Policy.
Google Analytics: HHS may employ tools provided by Google Analytics to support Display Advertising, including Remarketing, Google Display Network Impression Reporting, data collection via advertising cookies and anonymous identifiers, the DoubleClick Campaign Manager integration and/or Google Analytics Demographics and Interest Reporting. This means that third-party vendors, including Google, may show you public health campaign advertisements created by HHS and its agencies on non-government websites based on your visits to HHS websites. To implement these tools, HHS and third-party vendors, including Google, use first-party cookies and third-party cookies together to inform, optimize, and serve ads based on past visits to HHS websites. These cookies collect information about visits to HHS websites, but do not collect personally identifiable information (PII). Read the Google Analytics Privacy Policy.
Google reCAPTCHA: HealthIT.gov uses Google reCAPTCHA on web forms to distinguish human visitors from automated traffic and to protect the site against spam and abuse. reCAPTCHA analyzes technical signals such as IP address and browser interaction patterns. HHS does not use reCAPTCHA to collect personally identifiable information (PII). Read the Google Privacy Policy.
Hotjar: HealthIT.gov uses Hotjar to understand how visitors navigate and interact with the website, and to present optional on-site surveys. Hotjar collects information about pages viewed, clicks, scrolling, and device and browser characteristics, and assigns a randomly generated identifier that is unique to this website. HHS uses this information in aggregate to identify usability problems and improve the site. HHS does not use Hotjar to collect personally identifiable information (PII), and participation in on-site surveys is voluntary. Read the Hotjar Privacy Policy.
Pagefreezer: HHS uses Pagefreezer archiving software to archive content from the HHS.gov website and five topical websites. This software does not require users to submit personally identifiable information (PII), nor does HHS ask for this information. Read the Pagefreezer Privacy Policy.
Salesforce: HHS uses Salesforce to email newsletters and other messages to visitors who subscribe to them on HHS websites. Only HHS staff and managers who email newsletters using Salesforce or monitor the results of email initiatives have access to the subscriber lists. Salesforce never allows access to the subscriber lists to anyone outside of HHS for any purpose. Salesforce also provides aggregate data, such as email open rates and total clicks on links. Read the Salesforce Privacy Policy.
Siteimprove: HHS uses Siteimprove to manage our website. It provides the ASPA Digital team with information allowing them to make incremental changes to the sites managed by this team. Areas that Siteimprove provides information includes broken links, misspellings, accessibility, analytics, etc. Only HHS staff and managers who manage the ASPA managed websites have access to the Siteimprove information. Read the Siteimprove Privacy Policy.
Widgets: HHS offers widgets that provide specific HHS site content to any website that includes the widget code. You can install an HHS widget on any website simply by adding the HHS-provided code to a website’s source HTML code. If you choose to install HHS widgets, they will not collect any type of personally identifiable information (PII) from your websites visitors.
Website Security
In order to maintain website security and ensure HHS websites are available to the public, we use software programs to monitor traffic and identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information or otherwise cause damage to HHS websites. Law enforcement may use information from these tools to help identify an individual in the event of investigations and as part of any required legal process.
The U.S. Government maintains this website and there are federal laws that protect it. The government can arrest and prosecute individuals for illegal activity if they violate these laws.