How the NEI Web site uses Third-Party Web sites and Applications
Third-Party Web sites and Applications (TPWA) are Web-based technologies that are not exclusively operated or controlled by NEI, such as non-.gov hosted applications and those embedded on an NEI webpage that could cause personally identifiable information (PII) to become available or accessible to NEI, regardless of whether NEI solicits or collects it.
As part of the Open Government Directive, the NEI Website uses a variety of new technologies and social media options to communicate and interact with citizens. These sites and applications include popular social networking and media sites, open source software communities and more. The following list includes the Websites and applications we use and their purposes. For any sites or applications that collect PII, this list also includes details on information collected and how NEI protects your private information.
Third-Party Web Sites and Applications
Facebook: The NEI currently has a Facebook page for the National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) On the NEHEP Facebook pages, NEI staff posts news and other items of interest to citizens. If you have a Facebook account or 'Like' the NEHEP Facebook page, you can post comments or click on the 'like' option for individual entries. If you comment or click on the 'like' button, personally identifying information will be visible to NEI staff and other Facebook site visitors. The amount of visible personal information will depend on your own Facebook privacy settings. You can completely avoid displaying any personally identifiable information by not creating an account, not posting comments and not clicking on the 'like' options in Facebook. NEI staff does not collect, use or disclose any information about visitors who comment or 'like' the NEHEP Facebook site. Facebook collects and reports on non-personally identifiable information about activities on Facebook pages. This information is password protected and only available to the NEI communications and web teams, and other designated staff who require this information to perform their duties. The Facebook privacy policy is available at: http://www.facebook.com/policy.php.
Twitter: We use Twitter to send short messages (up to 140 characters) or 'Tweets' to share National Eye Institute (NEI) or National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) messages with visitors and respond to comments and inquiries sent via Twitter. While visitors may read the NEI or NEHEP Twitter feeds without subscribing to them, visitors who want to subscribe to (or follow) NEI or NEHEP Twitter feeds must create a Twitter account at www.twitter.com. To create an account, you must provide some personal information, such as name, user name, password and email address. Visitors have the option to provide additional personal information including a short biography, location or a picture. Most information you provide for a Twitter account is available to the public, but you can modify how much of your information is visible by changing your privacy settings at the Twitter.com Web site. NEI staff members monitor the number of subscribers and respond to comments and queries via Twitter, but the staff never takes possession of the personal information belonging to Twitter followers. NEI does not collect, maintain, disclose or share any information about people who follow NEI or NEHEP on Twitter. The Twitter privacy policy is available at: http://twitter.com/privacy.
Widgets: The NEI Web site offers widgets that deliver small versions of selected NEI site content to other online locations outside of the site where the content originated. Widgets are portable pieces of code. Visitors can install the widgets on any PC or Mac Web page without requiring additional coding or configuration. NEI widgets deliver information and links to any site or application where the widgets are installed. NEI widgets do not collect any type of personally identifying information from visitors who install NEI widgets. The WidgetBox.com privacy policy is available at: http://www.widgetbox.com/info/legal/privacy-policy. Note: This is the privacy policy for the Web site www.widgetbox.com (widget creator program), not the widgets themselves.
YouTube: NEI posts videos on the NIH channel on YouTube. You do not need to register with either YouTube or Google (YouTube owner) to watch NEI videos. When visitors watch videos, YouTube may record non-personally identifiable information about its site usage, such as channels used, videos watched, and data transfer details to improve its services. If you log on to the YouTube site before watching NEI videos, YouTube may associate information about your site use with your YouTube account. If you log on to YouTube and comment on a NEI video, any personal information you included when registering for your account will be visible to visitors who click on the comment. If you do not log in before watching NEI videos posted on YouTube, your site use will not be associated with you or a YouTube account. The YouTube privacy policy is available at: http://www.youtube.com/t/privacy.
Last Updated: January 2012
