HUD respects your right to privacy and will protect it when you visit our website. Here are some things you should know about how we protect your privacy.

Email

1. When you send us email we won't keep or share your email address with anyone outside of HUD staff, its contractors, and other federal representatives necessary to respond to your question. We'll only use your email address to respond to your requests for information.
    
2. If you sign up for one of our emailing lists, we'll only send you the kinds of information you've requested. We won't maintain your name on the list and won't share your email address with anyone outside of HUD.

Information Collection

1. When you browse, read pages or download information on our website, we automatically gather and store certain technical information about your visit. This information never identifies who you are. The information we collect and store about your visit is listed below.
   
   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.
    
   • The Internet domain (for example, "xcompany.com" if you use a private Internet access account, or "yourschool.edu" if you connect from a university's domain) and IP 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 website;  
   • The type of browser (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer) and operating system (Windows, Unix) used to access our site;  
   • The date and time you access our site;  
   • The pages you visit; and  
   • If you linked to our website from another website, the address of that website.  
2. Sometimes we use "cookies," which are small amounts of text stored on your computer. We only use "session cookies" in some places where people can transact business. That means we only store the cookie on your computer during that visit. So, if you are entering information for a business transaction, you won't lose the information if you go to another site and come back during the visit. After you turn off your computer or stop using the internet, the cookie is erased. If you don't want us to put a "cookie" on your computer, just follow these instructions. You will still be able to use the entire website.

Site Security

1. We monitor visits to the website to identify any attempt to tamper with it.
    
2. When you submit personal information using our website-for example, if you sign up for a conference online-we have systems that make sure people outside of HUD cannot access your personal information.
    
3. We would only try to identify you personally when required to do so by a law enforcement investigation. Any information we collect for those investigations is destroyed according to federal guidelines.
    
4. Tampering with HUD's website is against the law. If anyone tries to tamper with it, they may be punished under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 and the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act.

Links to Other Sites

1. Our website has links to many other websites. When you go to another site, you are subject to the privacy and security policies of that site. HUD cannot attest to the accuracy of information provided there.
    
2. Linking to a website does not constitute an endorsement by HUD, or any of its employees, of the sponsors of the site or the products presented on the site.