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# Website privacy policy

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## Content

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## General disclaimer

While you visit SBA.gov, we will not collect any personal information about you other than what you provide. We will only use your information for its intended purpose, such as responding to your request for information or joining a webinar. We remind you that if you visit a link outside of SBA.gov, you are subject to the privacy policies of that site.

## Information collected and stored automatically

SBA.gov collects some technical information from you when you visit the site to give you the best possible experience. We use web analytics software (Google Analytics) to explore how visitors interact with the website. This can include where they came from, what they did on the site, and whether they completed certain predetermined tasks while there. The Office of Management and Budget classifies this as Tier 2 usage since it is a multi-session web measurement. (For more information, see OMB memoranda M-10-22 and M-10-23.)

We use generalized data to improve our user interface and content to meet the needs of our customers. This also helps us to track problems, prevent fraud, and improve the effectiveness, security, and integrity of the site. This information does not identify you personally and is only held in accordance with SBA's data retention policy. For each page that you visit, we collect and store only the following technical information:
                  - Date and time of access
                  - URL address of the SBA.gov webpage visited
                  - Internet domain and IP address used to access our site
                  - Type of browser and operating system used to access our site (if provided by the browser)
                  - URL address of the referring page (if provided by the browser)
                  - Completion or success status of the request for a webpage or other online item
                  - File size of the webpage visited

This information is only used to help us make the site more useful for you. With this data, we learn about the number of visitors to our site and the types of technology our visitors use. We never track or record information about individuals and their visits. We do not share this data with anyone outside SBA unless necessary for law enforcement purposes.

## Cookies

Cookies are pieces of information that help webmasters understand how users interact with a website. User information in cookies can allow a site to display customized features when that user returns.

There are two types of cookies:
                  - A session cookie is a line of text stored temporarily in your web browser’s memory cache. Session cookies are not placed on any hard drive and get deleted as soon as you close your browser.
                  - A persistent cookie saves to a file on your hard drive. The website that set the cookie can use it to remember your past activities when you return to the site.

SBA.gov uses session cookies for some online tools, to pass information from one page to the next while you’re using them.

We use persistent cookies so that Google Analytics can differentiate between new and returning SBA.gov visitors. Persistent cookies remain on your computer between visits to SBA.gov until they expire.

Sometimes, SBA.gov will link to third-party services (like video streaming or event registration) on our site. These sites may set a persistent cookie when you access the content.

By default, persistent cookies and analytics software are automatically used when you visit SBA.gov. If you decide to disable or remove cookies from your browser, though, you will still have access to all information and resources on the site. Learn more about how to disable cookies in your browser.

## Information collected from interactive forms and surveys

### Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

PII includes personal information that can be used to identify you. You may provide PII to us when you sign up for SBA newsletters, contact our customer support, message a District Office, or fill out a****customer satisfaction survey. You are not required to register or provide PII to visit this website.

If you choose to provide PII through the methods described above, we will use it only to help us provide you the information or service you have requested.

SBA.gov uses online forms so users can contact SBA offices, sign up to receive email updates, or register for events. We will only use your information for its intended purpose and will not provide it to any third party unless required by law.

SBA.gov never collects information or creates individual profiles for commercial marketing. We will protect your personal information to the extent permissible under the Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act.

SBA maintains and destroys electronically submitted information according to the:
                  - Federal Records Act
                  - National Archives and Records Administration regulations and records schedules
                  - Privacy Act
                  - Freedom of Information Act

You can find a discussion of your rights under these laws on SBA’s Freedom of Information Act page.

## Privacy impact assessment (PIA)

The E-Government Act requires agencies to analyze how they collect and manage personal information online. These Privacy Impact Assessments must be available to the public.  See SBA's Privacy Impact Assessments.

## Children's privacy

Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying regulations protect the privacy of children using the internet. SBA.gov will never attempt to contact or collect personal information from children under 13.

It is possible that by fraud or deception, we may receive information about children under 13. If we discover this is the case, we will immediately either secure parental consent or delete the information from our servers. To report information submitted about children under 13, please email SBA's Answer Desk at answerdesk@sba.gov.

## Site security

SBA monitors network traffic to flag unauthorized attempts to access the site or otherwise cause damage.

Unless it's necessary for law enforcement purposes, we do not try to identify individual users and their usage habits. We follow the National Archives General Records Schedule rules about deletion of server logs.

Unauthorized attempts to upload or change information on this site may be punishable under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

## Social media and third-party websites

SBA uses social media websites and tools to publicize our programs and services, and engage with members of the public.

SBA’s privacy policies do not apply to these sites, but they do not forward any personal information they collect unless required for law enforcement purposes.  SBA does not use third-party websites to collect personal information from individuals.  We encourage you to read their policies when deciding whether to use them.

The following are SBA's official social media sites:
                  - Facebook  |   SBA’s Facebook privacy statement and terms of use
                  - X  |   SBA’s X privacy statement and terms of use
                  - YouTube  |   SBA’s YouTube privacy statement and terms of use
                  - Instagram  |   SBA’s Instagram privacy statement and terms of use
                  - LinkedIn  |   SBA’s LinkedIn privacy statement and terms of use
                  - Social Media Comment Policy

## Links to other sites

SBA.gov contains links to websites of other public and private organizations. When you follow a link to another site, your interactions are no longer protected by our privacy policy. SBA does not necessarily endorse the privacy or security practices and content of sites we link to.

Read more about SBA.gov's linking policy.

The Office of the Chief Privacy Officer reviewed this policy on September 26, 2023.

Learn more about SBA's privacy program.