The Federal Reserve Board eagle logo links to home page

Privacy

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is committed to maintaining the privacy of your personal information. The information practices for our web site are set forth below. The Board does not collect, store, or use information obtained through this web site, except as described below.

Information We Collect and Store When You Visit the Web Site

The Board automatically collects and stores information about your Internet connection when you visit our web site. This information includes the following:

  • the date and time that you access our site
  • the pages that you visit
  • if you linked to the Board web site from another web site, the address of that web site
  • the type of browser (for example, Internet Explorer) used to access our site
  • the IP (Internet Protocol) address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are surfing the web) from which you access our site
  • the action that you tried to perform (for example, download a document) and whether or not you were successful.

The Board does not use "cookies." (A cookie is an entry placed in a file on your hard drive by a web site that allows it to monitor your use of the web site, usually without your knowledge.)

If you choose to give us feedback on the web site via electronic mail (or if you request additional information from the Board), you will be asked for your name and address and will have the option of providing other information, such as your profession. If you send e-mail to the Board, we will consider that to be your consent for the Board to use the information collected from the message consistent with this policy.

If you provide your name and other information, the Board will maintain the information to process your request or inquiry. Board employees will see the information in the course of their official duties. In limited circumstances, such as requests from the Congress or pursuant to a court order, we may be required by law to disclose information you submit.

Please note that e-mail is not necessarily secure against interception, and that e-mail features in this web site are not encrypted. If your communication is very sensitive, or includes personal information like your bank account or social security number, you might want to send it by postal mail instead of e-mail.

How We Use the Information

The Board uses the information--both the information that is collected automatically and the additional information that you may provide--to measure the volume of requests for specific web-site pages, to improve the web site, and to be responsive to user needs and inquiries. The Board may use the IP address information to monitor unusually heavy activity from a single address.

Although questions, comments, and other communications that we receive generally are not retained as permanent records, please note that it is possible that any mail--electronic or paper--that we receive could become part of the permanent record of the Board, if the mail is part of materials that are scheduled for permanent retention.

Security of the Web Site

For the security of our site and to ensure that the site remains available to all users, the Board employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. See the Board's Disclaimer for additional information on this issue.

How to Contact Us about the Web Site

If you have a question about the way your information is used in connection with this web site or about the Board's privacy policy and information practices, you may send a letter to Privacy Comments, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Mail Stop 804, Washington, DC 20551, or send a Privacy Policy Comment.

Privacy Impact Assessments

Electronic Governors' Systems (38 KB PDF)

Internet Consumer Complaints System (39 KB PDF)

Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Program (36 KB PDF)

Web CAESAR System (48 KB PDF)