USA.gov privacy and security policies

Federal government policy on web measurement and customization technologies

The Office of Management and Budget released guidance in 2010 on how federal agencies can use web measurement and customization technologies. The guidance requires agencies to be open and transparent about using these technologies.

The guidance says agencies may not compromise or invade website visitors' personal privacy. Agencies can use cookies and other technologies to improve website visitors' experiences, and to see what is useful to the public and respond accordingly.

Cookies

A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your web browser. Here is how USA.gov uses cookies:

• We gather anonymous, statistical information about how people use USA.gov so we can improve our website. We use services to measure data about site activity. We only receive statistics on the traffic of the site as a whole and do not receive information related to a particular user.
• We remember your browser when you return to our site, so we do not invite you to take our customer satisfaction survey again within 90 days of completing the survey.

Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies. Although using cookies creates a much better experience for you, USA.gov will also work without them.

If you do not want to accept cookies, you can edit your browser's options to block cookies or to prompt you before accepting a cookie from the websites you visit. Learn how to block cookies.

External links

USA.gov links to many websites created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations as outlined in our linking policy. If you click on a link to an outside website, you will leave the USA.gov site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website.

Social media sites

USA.gov manages a presence on social media sites such as Facebook, X, YouTube, Instagram, and others to share government information and engage with the public. We do not collect any personally identifiable information through those sites, and we do not use personal information made available by the third-party sites.

If you send us personal information

We do not collect personal information for any purpose other than to respond to your request. The only personal information that we collect is what you decide to give us by subscribing to our email subscription services.

We only share the information you give us with another government agency if your question relates to that agency, or as otherwise required by law. USA.gov never collects information or creates individual profiles for commercial marketing.