The NIH Center for Regenerative Medicine

Privacy Policy

Privacy Statement

Protecting your privacy is very important to us. We do not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) about you during your visit to the NIH CRM website unless you choose to provide it to us. We do, however, collect some data about your visit to our website to help us better understand how the public uses the site and how to make it more helpful. We collect information from visitors who read, browse, and/or download information from our website. The NIH CRM never collects information for commercial marketing or any purpose unrelated to its mission and goals.

When visitors send e-mail messages containing personal information to us nihcrm@mail.nih.gov), the NIH CRM staff members, or contractors hired to assist the NIH CRM in carrying out its mission, respond to the e-mails and file them. We may forward e-mails to another entity within the NIH or another government agency which may be better able to answer the inquiry. We don't share them with anyone else.

Types of Information Collected

When you browse through any website, certain information about your visit can be collected. We automatically collect and temporarily store the following type of information about your visit:

  • Domain from which you access the Internet
  • IP address (an IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to a computer when surfing the web)
  • Operating system and information about the browser used when visiting the site
  • Date and time of your visit
  • Pages you visited
  • Address of the website that connected you to our website (such as Google.com or Bing.com)

We use this information to measure the number of visitors to our site and its various sections and to help make our site more useful to visitors.

How the NIH CRM Collects Information

The NIH CRM uses Webtrends measurement software and Google Analytics software to collect the information in the bulleted list in the "Types of Information Collected" section above. The software collects information automatically and continuously. No personally identifiable information is collected. The NIH CRM staff conducts analyses and reports on the aggregated data. The reports are available only to the NIH CRM staff and other designated staff and contractors who require this information to perform their duties.

The NIAMS retains the data from Webtrends and Google Analytics, as long as needed to support the mission of the NIH CRM website.

How the NIH CRM Uses Cookies

The Office of Management and Budget Memo M-10-22, Guidance for Online Use of Web Measurement and Customization Technologies allows Federal agencies to use session and persistent cookies.

When you visit any website, its server may generate a piece of text known as a "cookie" to place on your computer. The cookie allows the server to "remember" specific information about your visit while you are connected.

The cookie makes it easier for you to use the dynamic features of web pages. Cookies from the NIAMS web pages only collect information about your browser's visit to the site; they do not collect personal information about you.

There are two types of cookies, single session (temporary) and multi-session (persistent). Session cookies last only as long as your web browser is open. Once you close your browser, the cookie disappears. Persistent cookies are stored on your computer for longer periods.

Session Cookies: We use session cookies for technical purposes such as to enable better navigation through our site. These cookies let our server know that you are continuing a visit to our site. The OMB Memo M-10-22 Guidance defines our use of session cookies as "Usage Tier 1—Single Session." The policy says, "This tier encompasses any use of single session web measurement and customization technologies."

How to Opt Out or Disable Cookies

If you do not wish to have session or persistent cookies placed on your computer, you can disable them using your web browser. If you opt out of cookies, you will still have access to all information and resources at the NIH CRM website. Instructions for disabling or opting out of cookies in the most popular browsers are located at http://www.usa.gov/optout_instructions.shtml. Please note that by following the instructions to opt-out of cookies, you will disable cookies from all sources, not just those from the NIH CRM.

How Personal Information Is Protected

You do not have to give us personal information to visit the NIH CRM website.

If you choose to provide us with personally identifiable information, that is, information that is personal in nature and which may be used to identify you (for example, through an e-mail message, request for information, paper or electronic form, questionnaire, customer satisfaction survey, epidemiology research study, etc.), we will maintain the information you provide only as long as needed to respond to your question or to fulfill the stated purpose of the communication. If we store your personal information in a record system designed to retrieve information about you by personal identifier (name, personal e-mail address, home mailing address, personal or mobile phone number, etc.), so that we may contact you, we will safeguard the information you provide to us in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended (5 U.S.C. Section 552a).

If the NIH CRM operates a record system designed to retrieve information about you in order to accomplish its mission, a Privacy Act Notification Statement should be prominently and conspicuously displayed on the public-facing website or form which asks you to provide personally identifiable information. The notice must address the following five criteria:

  • NIH legal authorization to collect information about you
  • Purpose of the information collection
  • Routine uses for disclosure of information outside of NIH
  • Whether the request made of you is voluntary or mandatory under law
  • Effects of non-disclosure if you choose to not provide the requested information.

For further information about the NIH CRM privacy policy concerning this website, please contact the NIH CRM Web Manager at 301-496-8190.

This page was last modified on October 17, 2012