document: title: internet privacy statement
text: Welcome to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, Inc.'s (BCBSF) Internet website. At BCBSF, we strive to earn your continued respect and trust every day. We want you to understand how we collect, use, and protect the confidentiality of personal information. This statement pertains to information collected from you via this website (www.bcbsfl.com). You may receive other privacy notices from BCBSF, its affiliates, or its subsidiaries from time to time related to privacy and confidentiality of personal information, and such privacy notices may govern the treatment of information collected via this website as well. If you provide any information through this Internet site that relates to an individual's health condition or the provision of health care to an individual or payment therefore, the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices shall govern the manner in which we handle such information.

  


### Collecting and Using Personal Information

When you visit and navigate our website, and when you communicate with us via our site, we may collect personal information about you. By "personal information," we mean information that is unique to an individual and by which the individual may be identified, such as name, address, social security number, or health or financial information that is associated directly with an individual. This information is collected in order to provide benefits and services to you and to continue to improve and enhance our service offerings. This information may include, but is not limited to, that which you provide voluntarily through your interactions with the site, as well as information about how you use and navigate through the site.

We will not sell, license or transfer personal information we gather from you outside of BCBSF and its affiliated companies, except as necessary to provide you with information, services or products that we offer independently or jointly with others, as required by law or in connection with judicial or governmental proceedings, or in connection with the sale of all or substantially all of BCBSF assets or of the assets of a division of BCBSF. 

### Confidentiality of Personal Information

BCBSF uses reasonable efforts to protect the privacy and confidentiality of your personal information, including encrypting personal information as it is transmitted between your computer and BCBSF via our website. In addition, employees of BCBSF are subject to confidentiality and compliance policies relating to personal information.

When communicating personal information through the BCBSF website, you will be provided with a user identification code (user ID) and a password. Your password is your private key to access your account and personal information. To maintain the confidentiality of your account, you should never share your password with anyone. In addition, you should change it periodically and you should select a password that is difficult for others to identify.

### Non-Personal Information

We may use and disclose to others information about you and your use of the website by which you are not identified, such as the type of browser you use, the files you request, the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) and geographic location from which you request information, the URL that you came from and go to and similar information, and information compiled in the form of statistical, demographic, or aggregated information about visitors generally to the website. This information is referred to in this document as "Non-Personal Information."

We utilize technical mechanisms such as cookies and pixel tags (also called clear gifs) to gather non-personal site usage information. Cookies are small pieces of information that are stored by your browser on your computer's hard drive. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually change your browser to prevent the use of cookies. If you turn off cookies in your browser, however, some portions of our site may not be available to you. Pixel tags are imbedded in the web page and note visits to certain site locations. They may also be used in email communications to note if you have received and opened email communications from us.

### Mobile

Mobile-specific information we collect 

Sometimes, we record your phone number. We record your phone number when you send it to us; ask us to remember it; or make a call or send a text message or SMS to or from BCBSF.

Most of the other information we collect for mobile, such as your device and hardware IDs and device type, the request type, your carrier, your carrier user ID, the content of your request, and basic usage stats about your device and use of BCBSF’s products and services does not by itself identify you to BCBSF, though it may be unique or consist of or contain information that you consider personal.

If you use location-enabled products and services, such as Google Maps for mobile, you may be sending us location information. This information may reveal your actual location, such as GPS data, or it may not, such as when you submit a partial address to look at a map of the area. 

  
Certain use of our products and services allow you to download and/or personalize the content you receive from us. For these products and services, we will record information about your downloads and preferences, along with any information you provide yourself. If the product or service requires you to log in with a BCBSF Account, this information will be associated with your BCBSF Account. 

Information sharing and onward transfer  
  
All requests must be sent through your mobile carrier's network and your carrier may have access to it. For information regarding your carrier's treatment of your information, please consult your carrier's privacy policies. 

We may share your information with certain third parties we use to perform certain functions, such as billing and text message or SMS delivery. These third parties will be required to treat your information in accordance with the applicable BCBSF privacy policies. We may also share some information with your wireless operator in order to perform customer service functions. 

### Promotions, Information, or Other Offers

We may from time to time, send you information or offers regarding products or services of BCBSF or others in which we believe you might be interested. These offers will include an option that you may execute in order to discontinue similar contacts.

### Children

This site is not intended for use by children (children under the age of 13).

### Links to Other Sites

BCBSF may provide links to other websites. Please be aware that once you leave our website and enter another website, you may be subject to different privacy practices and policies over which BCBSF has no control and for which BCBSF is not responsible. Please use prudence in utilizing such links and in disclosing any personal information on those sites.

### Changes to this Internet Privacy Statement

The foregoing Internet Privacy Statement is effective as of January 1, 2002. BCBSF may change this statement periodically without notice. Changes to our Internet Privacy Statement will be noted here so that you can be informed about the privacy protections we provide. This statement is not intended to and does not create any contractual or other legal rights in or on behalf of any party. We changed this policy to specifically refer to and reference the HIPAA Notice of Privacy Practices on May 08, 2003.

### Related Information

For more information related to your use of this website, please refer to our Terms of Use.

For general information about how we protect and disclose information to third parties, please refer to our Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Privacy Notice.

If you have any questions or comments regarding these notices, please contact us at the Customer Service Number listed on your BCBSF Member ID Card.