Legal / Disclaimers

Alameda County may change this policy from time to time, and reserves the right to do so without notice.

Privacy Statement

We will revise or update this policy if our practices change, or as we develop better ways to keep you informed about them. You should refer back to this page often for the latest information and the effective date of any changes. If we decide to change this policy, we will post a new policy on our site and change the date at the bottom. Changes to the policy shall not apply retroactively.

When a computer is used to access information on ACGOV.org, the following basic information is automatically received and stored by Alameda County web servers hosting ACGOV.org:

  • Internet Protocol (IP) Address.  A computer’s IP address establishes its location on the internet and allows other computers, such as those hosting ACGOV.org, to send it content and other information;
  • The internet domain name when a computer accesses the internet through a domain, such as from a corporation (“xcompany.com”) or university ("yourschool.edu");
  • The date, time, and duration of a website visit;
  • If a computer accesses a page on ACGOV.org via a link on another page, the URL of that referring, non-ACGOV.org page;
  • Information about the computer set-up, such as the type and version of web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer 8.0, Mozilla Firefox 5.0), operating system (e.g., Unix, Mac OS, MS Windows), Java support (yes or no), Flash version (e.g., 10.1 r85), screen resolution (e.g., 1280x800), and connection speed (e.g., DSL, T1);
  • The specific pages a computer accesses when it requests information from  ACGOV.org; and
  • The amount of data (measured in number of bytes) transmitted from ACGOV.org to a computer.

Alameda County does not use this information to identify or track the browsing of individual users.  We do use it to generate aggregate statistics about how ACGOV.org is used. 

We do not sell, rent, exchange, or otherwise disclose this information to persons or organizations outside the County.  In some cases, we may share the information with other agencies in response to lawful law enforcement requests or to protect ACGOV.org from security threats.

Website Measurement and Customization Technologies (E.g., Cookies)

First-party (ACGOV.org) Website Measurement and Customization Technologies

Alameda County uses web measurement and customization technologies to make ACGOV.org function better for visitors and to better understand how the public is using the website.

This means that when you visit a page on ACGOV.org, the internet browser on your computer may download and save a small file from ACGOV.org (commonly called a “cookie”) so that our website can recognize your specific computer and browser when you use ACGOV.org in the future.  Alameda County does not use technologies that track your interactions on non-ACGOV.org websites.

These technologies fall into two categories, based on the length of time they remain active:

  1. Single-session cookies last only as long as a web browser is open.  Once the browser is closed, the data files on your computer are deleted.
  2. Multi-session cookies last beyond a single session of browsing a website; this allows a website to recognize a computer or user for defined amount of time.

Alameda County uses a third-party analytics provider (currently Siteimprove) to analyze the data collected through the session and persistent metrics cookies.  The third-party analytics provider does not receive personally identifiable information through these cookies and does not combine, match, or cross-reference ACGOV.org information with any other information.  Please review the third-party analytics provider’s privacy policy for additional information.

These cookies collect information similar to that automatically received and stored on the servers hosting ACGOV.org; they do not collect personal identifying information.  Alameda County generally does not access or store the raw information collected through these cookies.  We do view aggregate statistical analyses prepared by our third-party analytics provider, but these analyses do not include any personally identifiable information.  We do not sell, rent, exchange, or otherwise disclose this information to persons or organizations outside the County.  In some cases, we may share information with other federal agencies in response to lawful law enforcement requests or to protect ACGOV.org from security threats. 

Third-party website measurement and customization technologies

Some pages on ACGOV.org may include web content or functionality from third parties, such as embedded videos hosted by non-ACGOV.org services.  For example, content or functionality from the following third parties may be present on some ACGOV.org pages:

  • YouTube.com;
  • Vimeo.com;
  • Flickr.com;
  • Esri.com;
  • Facebook.com;
  • Twitter.com;
  • Instagram.com
  • Nextdoor.com

For your convenience, this list will be updated on a regular basis to reflect the third party providers of content or functionality that are commonly used on ACGOV.org. 

These third parties may use web measurement and customization technologies (such as cookies) in conjunction with the provision of this content or functionality.  You should consult the privacy policies of these third parties for further information.  We do not knowingly use third-party tools that place a multi-session cookie prior to the user interacting with the tool, for example by playing an embedded video. 

How you can control website measurement and customization technologies

Visitors can control aspects of website measurement and customization technologies used on ACGOV.org.  Visitors who choose to disable these technologies will still have access to comparable information and services on ACGOV.org.

One of the most common forms of website measurement and customization technologies is the use of “cookies.”  You can choose not to accept cookies from any website, including ACGOV.org, by changing the settings of your browser.  You can also delete cookies stored in your browser at any time. 

Personal Information

All applications that collect personal information such as credit card, social security number, birth date, etc. are setup to run under secure sockets layer (SSL) so that all information is encrypted. Personal information collected in online forms that are stored in a database are stored as encrypted information.

Cookies

The use of cookies is a standard practice among Internet websites and most Internet web browsers may be customized to reject cookies, to only accept or reject cookies by user intervention, or to delete cookies.

Links To / From a Third Party

The County website may be linked from or to local, State and federal government agencies, and other websites. The existence of those links does not constitute endorsement of the destination or departure website(s) or of the content of said destination or departure website(s).

Intellectual Property

The content of ACGOV.org web pages is copyrighted, and contains some third party images/graphics that are used with permission. Users are notified, therefore, that one should presume the need to obtain permission from the copyright holder before reproducing or otherwise using images/graphics from this website.

You are not entitled to copy logos, images, photographs, software or other material for personal or other non-County use which is made available through the County site that is contrary to any law, infringes on any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary right of any party without prior written permission of the County.