Last updated December 5, 2019
Your privacy is important to us and we are committed to protecting it. This privacy notice is intended to help you understand the types of information we collect about you and how we may use that information.
The personal information that you choose to provide to us is voluntary. We will treat any information we collect from you through FRBSF.org in accordance with this privacy notice.
By accessing our site, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to information you provide. If you do not accept the terms of this privacy notice, please do not use the site.
What personal information do we collect?
We generally collect three types of information:
- Information you provide to us
- Information we collect automatically
- Information we collect from other sources
Information you provide to us
You may choose to provide us with personal information. For example, if you subscribe to our email newsletters, send us questions through email, answer our user surveys, register for an event, apply for a job, or participate in our online activities. This information may include:
- Name
- Email address
- Physical address
- Phone number
- Company
- Job title
- Any other information you provide us
Information we collect automatically
We may also automatically collect statistical and website use information as you navigate through the site, using technology such as web analytics tools. This information helps us administer and improve our site, and may include information about your:
- Internet service provider
- Operating system
- Browser type
- Network domain name
- Internet protocol (IP) address
- Dates and times of your visit
- Website or search engine that referred you to us
We also use cookies and web beacons to collect website use information. Cookies are small data files stored on your hard drive by a website to, among other things, help us improve your experience using the site. Web beacons are small, transparent images that are embedded in our site, which we use to track the webpages you visit, and to test the effectiveness of our communications. You can set your internet browser to reject web beacons and cookies by adjusting the appropriate settings, though doing so may affect your experience with the site.
Information we collect from other sources
We may collect information about you that is publicly available or information that you provide to companies that provide services to us. For instance, we may collect information you post publicly to a blog, or social media like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Likewise, we may collect information from a third party, such as an event planning site we use for event registration. Collecting this information helps us improve our site, communications with you, and content and event offerings.
What do we do with the information we collect?
We use the information discussed above in numerous ways, such as:
- Responding to your requests and communicating with you
- Providing you with information or content/publications
- Notifying you of changes or updates to our site or content offerings
- Performing analytics concerning your use of the site, including the pages you view
- To fulfill the purpose for which you provide information
- For another purpose we specify when you provide the information
Site Surveys- If you participate in a user survey, your answers and personal information will be used to help us tailor our web site, publications, and services to our users’ needs and to help us understand our audience.
Site Analytics- Information gathered automatically by analytics tools such as Google Analytics is used to identify, among other things:
- our site’s most popular pages;
- the browsers and operating systems most often used by our visitors;
- the sites and search engines that have referred visitors to our site; and
- the domains from which our users visit us.
This analysis helps us understand and better meet your needs and create better experiences for all of our site visitors.
Who do we share your information with?
Any information collected through this website, whether individual or aggregate, is for Federal Reserve use only. No information about visitors to this website is sold to any third parties outside of the Federal Reserve System, but the information may be stored on third-party cloud-based applications, and we may share your personal information with companies that provide services to us, such as email subscription providers, analytics providers, survey providers, or other organizations we partner with in support of our mission.
We may share your information with another Reserve Bank or the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. You should consult the privacy notices of such third parties for more information on how they use the information they collect, use, share, and store on the Bank’s behalf.
We may also disclose your information if we are required to do so by law, or if we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and property, or the personal safety or property of other site users, our employees, or the public. Please note that we may not provide you with notice prior to disclosure in such cases.
Updates to our Privacy Notice
We may update this privacy notice from time to time, without notifying you. Please check back regularly to stay updated on changes to our privacy notice.
Third Party Links and Services
We may provide links on our site to various websites that we do not own or control. For example, citing sources in our editorial content or linking to regulatory guidelines. These links are provided as a convenience. If you visit a website that is linked to or from our site, we encourage you to consult that website’s privacy policy before providing any personal information and when interacting with any website.
Inclusion of any linked website, or reference on our site to any specific commercial product, process or service does not constitute or imply an endorsement or recommendation by us. Your use of any third-party software or links provided on our site is at your own risk.
Notice of the Bank’s Information Practices with Regard to Children
The Bank often engages in educational and community outreach activities, including in schools and community centers. However, in general, this site is not for children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13.
Minor children should always obtain parental consent before releasing personal information to any website, including this one.
About FRBSF.org
The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco is a federal instrumentality of the government of the United States of America, operated solely in the United States. The Bank’s collection, use, and sharing of personal information does not subject the Bank to the laws of any jurisdiction other than the federal laws of the United States.
By accessing our website or providing us your personal information, you agree that all matters relating to our privacy practices and this web site shall be governed and construed according to the federal laws of the United States. The United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco shall have original jurisdiction over any disputes related to this web site or the Bank’s privacy practices.